HLP2-Slytherin's Secrets
by Cosmyk Angel
Summary: HLP 2 Summary: This is year 2 of Harriet Potter's adventures at Hogwarts. Raised by her mother's best friend, Harriet's life has been very different from the one planned for her by a certain manipulative headmaster. Follow her as she and her friends encounter new teachers, friends and hazards at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. *Sequel to HLP*
1. Prologue

HLP2 – Slytherin's Secrets

A/N: First off, I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters (weeps), they all belong to J.K. Rowling. I do however own any original characters found in these pages.

Second, the year 2 you will find in these pages is going to be vastly different from the Chamber of Secrets. There will be some similarities, but those will be obvious.

A/N: This story is about Harriet Lily Potter and what her life might have been like if she had been raised knowing about the Wizarding World. This story will be rated 'M' mainly for language and certain issues that will come up.

Thanks to my Beta BreanIver and to all of my Devoted Readers.

Here is the 2nd installment of the HLP series.

Prologue:

He pushed his blonde hair out of his eyes as he peered into his father's study through the crack in the door.

"Weasley will pay dearly for what he has wrought,"

"How are you going to do that?" Adrian Nott asked, pacing the study.

"With this," His father held up a small black book.

He heard a gasp and a thin feminine voice asked "I-Is that...?"

"Yes, he left it in my keeping. With this, we can kill two birds at once. Dumbledore will be discredited when the Chamber of Secrets is opened again, and Arthur Weasley will lose his job," Lucius smiled a vicious, satisfied smile.

Draco withdrew from the doorway, knowing his father would react poorly if he was caught spying on his secret meetings. He kicked the carpet with his toe as he retreated down the hall. There was nothing fun to do in the boring mausoleum. Even tormenting the house-elf wasn't fun anymore. He wished Pansy and Theodore were there, but Pansy's family had gone to France for the summer, and Theodore and his mom had gone to Scandinavia to visit some of her relatives.

He sighed and threw himself onto his king-sized four poster bed. Even flying wasn't much fun when there was no one to fly with. With a flick of his wand, he summoned his school books from the shelf he kept them on when he was at home. Lying on his stomach on the green and silver bedspread, he set to work completing his homework.

HLPHLPHLP

"Mu-um, can I pleeeease invite Harriet over? Her birthday is in a few weeks and I was hoping she could spend part of it with us," Rhonda stood in the kitchen of the burrow, pleading with her mother as she washed dishes.

"I don't see why not, so long as it is okay with her uncle. Has she told you much about him?" She fished.

"No, only that he's a muggle and he travels a lot. She calls him Uncle Toby," Rhonda explained.

"Why don't you hang the laundry to dry and gather the eggs, then you can write to her and see if she can come," Molly suggested to her youngest daughter.

"Fine," Rhonda pouted, stomping off to do her chores. She loathed gathering eggs. The hens were constantly pecking at her and the chicken coop smelled like an open sewer.

"Ooh, does ickle Rhonniekins have to gather eggs again?" Frederica taunted as she left the kitchen.

"Yeah, be careful of those chickens, they might eat you," Georgia sneered, up to her elbows in flour as she kneaded dough for the bread.

"Go shag a troll!" Rhonda snarled.

"RHONDA WEASLEY, I DID NOT JUST HEAR YOU SAY THAT!" Their mother bellowed. Rhonda shrank back. Molly Weasley was very strict about the use of inappropriate language in her house.

"You should never speak to one of your sisters like that, no matter how mad they make you. You will be weeding the garden and de-gnoming it for the rest of the summer, Rhonda." She wheeled on the twins, "You two stop taunting your sister or I will find more work for the both of you to keep you out of mischief."

They hung their heads, but Rhonda thought she saw them exchange a smile. She stomped out to the garden and began hanging the laundry.

"What did you do to piss mum off this time?" Gryffin asked, as he tossed gnomes out of the garden.

"I told Georgia to go shag a troll," she whispered back, looking around to ensure her mother wasn't in hearing distance.

Gryffin laughed, "haven't you learned by now that mom hates language like that?"

"Yeah, it's just—just that they make me so mad," she raged, whipping a sheet out of the basket.

"I know what you mean. I had to hex them to get them to stop dressing me up as a girl every time I turned around. I am not sure which is more annoying, that or being a test subject for their pranks."

They thought about that for a moment, "definitely the pranks," they said in unison.

HLPHLPHLP

"Can I go to Rhonda's house on my birthday? She said her mother said it was alright," Harriet asked, clutching Rhonda's letter.

Severus Snape looked up from his book, "I don't see why not, provided Dora is available to escort you there. It will have to be in the evening though because I wish to spend the day with you on your birthday. Oh, and write to her and ask if it is alright if you stay until term starts, I have to go to Romania and gather dragonsbane for my potions stores. I don't know how long I'll be gone, I am hoping to take a trip over to Yugoslavia and gather some rare fungus that grows in a cave there. I want to see what properties it has and if it can be used in potion making."

Harriet smiled, "thank you. I will go write to her now." She hurried off to compose her letter.

Severus sighed, she was growing up more like her mother every day. It was a shame she had James' coloring. She might not be a red-head like Lily, but she sure had her fiery temperament. He blanched at the thought of explaining the necessities to her. He'd have to beg Andromeda to take that unpleasant job. He wondered what he could bribe her with. Perhaps a lotion to help ease her joints would work; he laid his book aside and headed to his potions lab.

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. What is in store for our characters this year?

-Cosmyk


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Also, I'm rather unhappy with . I can't use special characters to transition between chapters (grrr). I think I found a way around it though. I will eventually be going back to the last story and updating the chapters._

_WARNING: This chapter will deal with some sensitive material, reader discretion is advised (lol always wanted to say that)._

**Bandia, this chapter is for you, thanks for the great review!**

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 1:

Severus Tobias Snape, known to the muggle world as Professor Toby King of Cambridge University sat in the den reading a _Popular Science_ magazine. He'd been studying ways of combining magic with muggle technology and was intent on the article about artificial intelligence when he heard a scream from upstairs.

The magazine fell to the floor, instantly forgotten as he lurched to his feet and raced up the stairs, wand at the ready. It rather surprised him then to discover that Harriet was not in her room. Becoming frantic, he was just about ready to rush downstairs to the fireplace when he heard a whimper from the bathroom.

"Harriet, are you in there?" He asked. Fear and concern laced his voice.

"I-I-I don't know what's happening," Harriet's voice sounded small through the heavy oak door.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" He reached for the doorknob.

"I think so. My stomach hurts and I'm bleeding," Harriet's words had him tugging at the locked door, wand forgotten.

"Don't come in, I'm not dressed." Harriet squeaked from the other side of the door.

"How can I help you if I can't see the wound?"

"I don't know where the wound is. I think it's inside," the panic in her voice was growing noticeably stronger.

"Inside?" Severus was puzzled.

"In my…in my private place," Harriet's words were barely audible. He could hear the embarrassed overtones.

Color began creeping up his neck and into his face as he realized what the problem was.

"Don't worry, Harriet, I'm going to call Andromeda. She will be able to help you," he hurried downstairs and threw half the bag of floo powder into the fire. "Andromeda Tonks, Tonks Cottage." He thrust his head into the fireplace the moment it turned green.

"Andi are you there?" He bellowed.

There was a squeak of surprise from Andi as she and Ted hastened to rearrange their clothes. Severus turned his face away, mortified. A moment later, Andromeda Tonks was kneeling beside the fireplace.

"You can look now, Severus," she laughed. "What is the problem?"

"It's Harriet. You need to come, quickly. She's…She's…I need you to explain things to her," he finished, too embarrassed to explain properly.

Concerned that something bad had happened to Harriet, she grabbed her medical bag and flooed to Lily's Heart.

"What seems to be the problem, Severus?" She asked as she dusted floo powder from her robes.

"Harriet's in the bathroom and she won't come out. She says her stomach hurts and she's bleeding from her private area. I'm pretty sure she's starting the lunar curse as Lily used to call it. I'd like for you to check her and make sure she is alright, and if it is that, could you please explain to her what is going on? I can't. How do I explain something like _that_ to a girl?" He knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't care. He'd get on his knees and beg if he had to. There was no way he could possibly explain something that intimate to an eleven-year-old girl.

"Oh. Oh,"

Severus knew he was in trouble when he heard the laughter in that second "Oh."

Giggling, Andromeda headed up the stairs. She hadn't even reached the top when he heard her begin guffawing loudly. There was a rap on the bathroom door and a moment later the sound of the door opening and closing.

He sank down into his chair in relief, knowing he would never hear the end of it from her.

HLPHLPHLP

Harriet heard Andromeda's rich laughter from her perch on the loo. When the knock sounded on the door, she flicked her wand and removed the locking spell on it.

Andromeda stepped into the room and looked at her.

"Tell me what is wrong, child," she instructed in a gentle voice.

"I woke up this morning and my stomach was hurting bad, here," Harriet placed a hand on her lower abdomen. "I thought maybe I was getting sick, so I hurried in here. That's when I noticed the blood," she gestured a shaky hand at a pair of blood streaked white cotton knickers lying in the corner.

"Okay, I think I know what the problem is, but I want to ask a few questions first."

"Okay," Harriet agreed, still frightened.

"Have you fallen recently in such a way that you landed on your vagina or abdomen?"

Harriet shook her head, face scarlet.

"Has anyone ever touched you in your private places or stuck any object or part of their body there?" Andromeda asked, her no nonsense tone warning Harriet to be truthful.

Harriet blushed, "no."

"Have you ever touched yourself there?"

"No."

"Okay, I'm just going to check something, stand still for a moment," She pulled her wand and waved it at Harriet. A feeling of warmth washed over her and she could almost swear she saw a glow from the corner of her eyes.

"Good," Andromeda said, flicking her wand again. The warmth disappeared.

"Everything looks normal. You aren't injured, child. What is happening to you is perfectly natural."

Harriet heaved a sigh of relief as Andromeda launched into an in-depth explanation of menstruation and the female reproductive system. They discussed it at length, Andromeda answering all of Harriet's questions. Finally, she swished her wand and conjured an object that was folded and wrapped in white plastic.

"Now dear, this spell is called 'ABSORBUS,' it will help absorb the blood that your body releases during this time. It was created by an American witch who was tired of using the old archaic methods. Now all you do is tap a clean pair of knickers twice with the tip of your wand and say 'ABSORBUS.' The spell works for twelve hours and then you must renew it or you will have a mess. It works much better than muggle alternatives. I want you to try it," she gestured to the clean pair of knickers that were neatly folded on the counter.

Harriet nodded and lifted her wand, tapping the knickers twice and repeating the word perfectly.

"Very good, Harriet, now remember, this doesn't vanish the blood, so you will have to make sure you rinse them out at the end of the night or have the house elves do it. I'll send Nymphadora over tomorrow to help you shop, I have a feeling you may need some bras before the school year is over again," Andromeda hugged the girl who was nearly as dear to her as her own daughter.

"Thanks Cousin Andi, I was terrified I'd done something to hurt myself. What were you laughing about before you came in here, by the way?"

Andi laughed, "Your uncle was too embarrassed to explain to you what was going on, so he called me and asked me to do it."

Harriet chucked, "I'm glad you did. I'd have been too embarrassed to ever look at him again if I'd he'd been the one to explain all that to me." She hugged her cousin one last time and then Andromeda left. Harriet re-locked the door and turned on the shower.

A/N: I thought we should address how that subject was dealt with, considering I could see both Snape and Harriet having a problem with Snape having to explain the facts of life to her. You can bet Andi is going to expect ample repayment though; she was a Slytherin after all.


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Also, this fic is listed as 'M' rating, mainly for later chapters/books, so I am assuming that anyone reading this story is 'of age' and has no objection to sometimes adult oriented material. If you do object, please find something else to read. _

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

_**A big thank you to all of my followers, you make this story worth writing. Any feedback is always appreciated.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 2:

The old man paced his office, scratching his beard thoughtfully. How could his spell have not worked? He wondered. He knew tracking spells were illegal to use on students, but he had doubted anyone would discover he'd used one on Harriet at the time. Now he wasn't so sure. Someone must have noticed it and removed it. It was the only explanation for why he couldn't find her. Why hadn't they come for him yet? He asked himself. Were they just biding their time to make him sweat? Perhaps they planned to blackmail him.

Fawkes trilled at him from his perch. Dumbledore cocked his head, listening. He shook his head in response to what the phoenix was saying.

"The girl has to be trained. She will not be able to defeat Voldemort without magical training and strengthening. I had hoped to use the Stone to challenge her. I was not expecting Quirrel to attack her before she went down after the Stone."

Fawkes trilled again.

"She would be the safest with her muggle relatives, the Dursleys. I did a search and they are the only living relations she has on Lily's side, at least that my search would turn up," He sank down in the large plushy chair behind his desk. "I wanted the child to grow up ignorant of her fame. I know nothing of this muggle Uncle of hers, or if he is even related to her by blood at all. I daresay I should make some enquiries," He pulled a stack of parchment out of the center drawer of his desk.

HLPHLPHLP

Harriet looked around the herpetarium in amazement. She'd never seen so many species of snake in her life. She looked up at her uncle beside her and laughed to herself. He was deliberately looking anywhere but at the snake enclosures. She squeezed his arm in understanding. No one could ever know that the somber, strict head of Slytherin House was terrified of snakes. She leaned closer to the window of the big boa constrictor, reading the sign, and felt him give a deep shudder.

"I wish you wouldn't stand so close, my dear," he muttered under his breath.

"He's not going to hurt me, **are you?**" she hissed the last.

The snake shook its head.

Her uncle shuddered again. "Please don't do that, it gives me the willies," he whispered.

She giggled, patting him on the arm. "I'm done here. Why don't we go see the giraffes next," she suggested, pulling him out of the herpetarium. They strolled down the paths of the zoo, pausing every so often to observe this animal or that.

"Do they have zoos in the magical world?" she asked.

"Yes, but most of them are poor quality zoos that care more for the galleons they rake in than the welfare of the animals. The only two I know of that put the animals' needs first are the San Francisco Magical Menagerie and the Dobutsuen no Majikku* in Tokyo," he explained. "Both are run by certified Magical Creature Keepers whose interest is more in the preservation of magical species than in galleons."

"Hmm, that sounds almost like what Charlene Weasley does, but she specializes in dragons," Harriet explained.

"I know," Severus said dryly, "It is all she ever talked about at Hogwarts. It was nearly an obsession for her."

They reached the main gate and headed for Severus' Scirocco Mark 2. There were still a couple of hours before Dora arrived to escort her to the burrow.

"Where are we going now?" Harriet asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"I was thinking we would grab tea and take a stroll through the shopping district. Happy Birthday, Harriet," Severus said, handing her a card.

She ripped it open eagerly, removing the 100£ note, and read the inscription on the card.

For the World's Greatest Niece

On Her Birthday,

May Your Year Be Filled With Blessings

And May Merlin Watch Over

And Protect You.

With Love, Uncle Toby

Harriet smiled and impulsively hugged him, causing the car to swerve. He swore, and Harriet blushed, apologizing.

"I don't mind the hugs as long as I'm not driving," he scolded affectionately, turning the car onto the highway. Harriet watched the unfamiliar scenery pass by.

"Where are we going?"

He smirked, "It's a surprise."

They drove for another hour before a little village unfolded before them. The little wooden sign at the edge of town read: "Welcome to Godric's Hollow."

Her eyes widened as she realized where they were going. "You are taking me to see mum and dad aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, we couldn't go before because I was afraid Dumbledore was watching the place, but it is time. I'm going to let you have this time alone with them; I will meet you at Twila's Tea Shoppe." He parked the car beside a little white church and pulled out a small vial. The liquid inside it was a viscous snot color. He quickly swallowed it down and Harriet watched as he morphed into a short bald muggle.

"What is that stuff?"

"Polyjuice potion, my dear, you should drink some too. You are less likely to be recognized if you use it," he pulled out another vial.

Harriet downed it quickly, "Ugh, that stuff tastes like bogie flavored jelly beans," she gagged. Her skin began stretching and contorting and she removed her glasses as her eyes adjusted. When she looked in the mirror, she gasped.

"I-I look like my mum," she whispered.

"I figured you wouldn't mind. I still have one of Lily's brushes and there were a few strands trapped in it," Her uncle replied.

Harriet looked at herself, tears shining in her eyes. She shook her head, "No, I don't mind," she whispered, touching her face gently. After a minute, she exited the car and walked slowly through the cemetery gate beside the church.

As she stood looking down at the double grave, Harriet wept quietly, sinking to her knees.

"Mum, Dad, I'm sorry I haven't been here before. Uncle Toby didn't think it was safe. I know you know who he is. He's been very good to me, mum. I think you'd be proud of him. He really loves you. I miss you both. I'm glad Uncle Toby is the one raising me. I heard the Headmaster wanted me to live with Aunt Petunia, but Uncle Toby told me she hated you. I hate to think what life would have been like living with her," Harriet continued on in that vein for a while, telling her parents all about her life until a sound nearby distracted her.

A tall, white-haired man dressed in clerical robes stood a few feet away observing her.

"Dear god," he whispered, eyes shocked, "you look just like Miz Lily." Tears streamed down his face.

"Lily Potter was my mum," she whispered, drawn to this strange old man.

"I'm Father O'Donnell. Lily used to come to church every Sunday. Her husband wasn't much for church, but she brought you to be christened here shortly after you were born, she was such a sweet young lady," He sighed. "It's too bad about that gas explosion. I'm just glad you survived. Young Mister Black was distraught when he couldn't find you."

Harriet laughed nervously. It was probably a good thing Sirius Black hadn't found her still there. She thought she would probably be many years dead if Black had found her that night. Smiling kindly at the old priest, she excused herself and went to join her uncle at the tea shop.

"Did you know that old priest at the church knew mum?" She asked, nibbling on a biscuit.

"Not really, I didn't have much contact other than letters with your mum before they went into hiding. I came to warn them that night, against Dumbledore's orders, but I was too late," he whispered, taking a sip of his tea.

Harriet didn't respond, her mind still deep in thought as she sipped her tea. It was hot, but nearly flavorless as was often the case with imperfectly brewed Green Tea. She'd sweetened hers up a bit with a dab of honey and a twist of lemon. They sat there silently for several minutes until a clatter in the doorway alerted them to another customer. They looked over to see Nymphadora Tonks attempting to right the small statue of Venus that sat just inside the doorway. She was blushing furiously. Harriet sprang up and rushed over to help her as the hostess stood, wringing her hands. When it was over, she joined them at their table.

"I asked Dora to meet us here instead of at the cottage," Severus explained, "I thought you would like to visit your parents before you went to the Burrow."

"I did, thank you for letting me," she looked at her watch. "It is almost four. Let's get back to the car and get my stuff."

"Don't be impatient, I'm sure Dora would like a spot of tea," he gestured toward the pot.

Dora looked at it skeptically. "Err, if it's that stuff you usually drink, no thanks," she gestured to the hostess who hurried over.

"I'd like an Almond Roca Mocha, Venti."

The woman scribbled the order onto her pad and hurried into the back room.

"You know, if you want energy, pepper-up potion is much better for you," Severus observed dryly.

"Eww, no thanks. I'd rather have the caffeine, even if it isn't good for me," Dora made a face. "I can't understand how you drink that stuff," she gestured at the pot.

"It's an acquired taste," he rumbled, refilling his cup. Dora watched in horror as he added three packets of sugar, a dribble of cream and two twists of lemon.

"Ugh, how can you stand to drink it like that?" she shuddered delicately.

He laughed, deep and rich. "It is an acquired taste, my dear," he took a long sip of the tea, choking suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Dora asked with concern.

He merely coughed and gestured at her. Harriet looked over at her and giggled.

"Your hair is purple again, Dora."

"Oh, damn. That's the part that's hardest for me to control, I'm afraid," she said, concentrating. Her hair was suddenly a rich mahogany again. "Is that better?"

Harriet nodded, finishing her tea. She nibbled a couple more biscuits as she waited for the two adults to finish their tea.

"Well, are you ready?" Dora asked, standing up, her steaming coffee cup clasped in one hand.

"Yes. I've missed Rhonda these past few weeks. I'll be glad to see her again, and the others too," she couldn't help but think of a certain red-haired boy with chocolate eyes.

*Roughly translates to: Zoo of Magic or Magical Zoo in Japanese.


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Also, this fic is listed as 'M' rating, mainly for later chapters/books, so I am assuming that anyone reading this story is 'of age' and has no objection to sometimes adult oriented material. If you do object, please find something else to read. _

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

_**A big thank you to all of my followers, you make this story worth writing. Any feedback is always appreciated.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 3:

The crack of apparition had Rhonda running out the door, Mrs. Weasley's scolding about un-lady-like behavior going unheeded as the door slammed shut behind her.

Harriet had barely gotten her balance back from the apparition when she was bowled over by a hyper red-head. She winced and rubbed her bum, grimacing as her hand came away covered in mud. "OY! Did you have to knock me into the mud first thing?"

Rhonda blushed and pulled her to her feet. Harriet could see Dora snickering beside her. She shot her a glare. Dora's hair was pink with mirth. She just laughed and hugged Harriet.

"Happy birthday, Harriet," she whispered, pressing a package into her hands. Harriet looked down at the package and then back up at Dora. Dora winked at her, "wait until you are alone to open it." She spun on one foot and disapparated, leaving Harriet and Rhonda staring after her.

"What is it?" Rhonda asked, eyeing the package with curiosity.

"I don't know. I haven't opened it yet. I'll wait until tonight and then I'll show you. I can't imagine what she could have gotten me that she doesn't think I'd want everyone to see," Harriet mumbled as she tucked the present into her pocket.

"Harriet, dear, it is so lovely to see you again," Mrs. Weasley gushed, rushing out the door to greet her daughter's guest.

"Thank you for allowing me to visit, Mrs. Weasley," she half curtseyed.

"Nonsense," Mrs. Weasley waved off the thanks, "we love to have you visit. Rhonda can't stop talking about you. You must call me Molly. Mrs. Weasley makes me sound so old," she laughed.

"I'll try, but my uncle raised me to always be respectful to adults, so pardon me if it takes me time to remember," Harriet apologized in advance.

"Well, come in child, supper will be ready in an hour and a half. You can put your things away in Rhonda's room; I've set up the spare cot for you there." She pulled out her wand and gestured to Harriet's trunk and Hedwig's cage, both of which began to float toward the house.

The two girls followed, arms wrapped around each other's waists.

Rhonda fairly bubbled with excitement. "We've been baking all day. Mum has made the perfect cake; you do like chocolate, right?"

Harriet knew the question was rhetorical, she could feel herself starting to drool. "I'm sure it will be perfect."

"What did you do today?" Mrs. Weasley asked as they walked into the house.

"My uncle took me to the zoo and then we went to see my parent's graves and then had tea with Dora before coming here," Harriet catalogued her day.

"Was it a magical zoo?" Rhonda asked.

"Harriet's uncle is a muggle, dear," Mrs. Weasley reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. So a muggle zoo then, what's that like?"

"It's the greatest; I really love visiting all of the animals. My favorite exhibit is the herpetarium, it gives Uncle Toby the willies," Harriet giggled.

"What's a herpet – herpet – a whatever?" Rhonda asked, intrigued.

"A herpetarium? It's a snake exhibit," Harriet replied casually.

Rhonda drew back. "You like snakes?"

Harriet could tell she was thinking of Slytherin house.

"Well, I like them when they are animals, but if you are referring to blonde-haired snakes, no," Harriet laughed.

Both girls giggled. Mrs. Weasley watched them, surprised that Harriet would like snakes given her house affiliations. She shrugged it off. Muggle snakes were harmless. It was some of the magical ones you had to worry about.

HLPHLPHLP

Harriet sat down to the table between Rhonda and Gryffin. The smells emanating from the kettle over the fireplace caused her stomach to rumble. She giggled nervously, blushing as Gryffin chuckled next to her. "Mum, you'd better hurry up with that stew or Harriet's going to perish of hunger," he teased.

Molly smiled benevolently over at the three of them. "Why don't you go up and tell your sisters that supper is ready," she instructed Gryf.

He bolted up the stairs, bellowing that dinner was ready. There was a loud bang, followed by an angry string of curses which had Molly yelling up the stairs.

"Gryffin! Language! Frederica Gilda Weasley, Georgia Frances Weasley, get your tails down here now!"

The three trudged down the stairs, Gryffin glaring at his sisters. If looks could kill, Harriet thought, the twins would be dead by now. A giggle escaped her lips as she noticed what he was wearing. She promptly clamped her hands over her mouth, knowing he wasn't amused.

Gryffin stood at the foot of the stairs, face coated in make-up, wearing a muggle ballerina outfit in shocking hot pink. His face was red with anger, a glowing shade that almost blended with the tutu. Patricia came down the stairs behind the three of them and made her way to the table silently, her face set in a grimace of disapproval.

"Freddie, Georgie, change your brother back, NOW!" Mrs. Weasley demanded, just as a *whoosh* resounded from the floo. Mr. Weasley stepped from the floo and looked over at his family. He took in Gryffin, fists clenched, red with rage. He raised his wand. "FINITE."

He glanced over at his wife. "I think they need to scrub the floors without magic for a week, and de-gnome the garden."

She looked over at the twins, "that sounds fair; Gryffin has to help me in the kitchen this week." When Gryffin attempted to open his mouth and object she cut in, "that language is never acceptable in my house." Gryffin hung his head and nodded, shuffling back to the table and flopping heavily into the seat beside Harriet.

Harriet took a deep breath and practiced a meditation exercise for a moment to ensure she had control of herself. Hot pink was definitely not Gryff's color, she thought.

The remainder of the meal passed uneventfully, though Harriet swore she would have to ask Mrs. Weasley for her recipe. This was the best stew she'd ever eaten. Uncle Toby was a decent cook, but Mrs. Weasley certainly had him beat.

As soon as the plates were cleared away, Mrs. Weasley summoned desert plates and then gestured with her wand. The pantry door opened, and out floated the largest cake Harriet had ever seen. It was probably two feet tall and shaped into a snitch. She groaned in appreciation when she noticed the golden coloring came not from magic but from the sweet, coconut-laced, German Chocolate frosting. Her green eyes glowed with appreciation. Mrs. Weasley had just won her undying loyalty. She LOVED German Chocolate cake.

She sat back half an hour later, her stomach uncomfortably full. She'd had three helpings of the cake as well as two of the stew. Everyone retreated to the den and with a gesture from Mr. Weasley's wand, a pile of presents floated to Harriet's feet.

The first gift she opened was from Patricia. It was a book titled _Perfectly Proper, a handbook of Etiquette for Witches_ by Stenora Straitlace. Harriet sighed inwardly, but smiled politely and thanked Patricia. She knew Patricia was trying to be thoughtful, but she couldn't imagine a more boring book.

The next gift was from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. She opened it and gasped. Inside was a lovely jumper in a shade of forest green that matched her eyes. The material was made from the softest cotton she'd ever felt. It would be perfect for summer. It was short sleeved with a square neckline and little gold buttons to the waist before flaring out in the skirt.

"When you are ready to wear it, call me and I will make whatever minor adjustments are needed to make it a perfect fit. I figured if you were raised by your uncle, you might like to have something pretty to wear on occasion. Men don't always think of these things," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling at the girl's obvious joy.

"I love it. I usually wear jeans or shorts. Uncle Toby hates shopping and the only dresses I have I've gotten when I'm with Cousin Dora or Cousin Andi," Harriet's happiness was effusive.

"Open mine," Rhonda said, thrusting a large package at her.

Harriet laid the dress to the side and opened Rhonda's package, gasping when she saw its contents. Inside was a selection of Honeyduke's finest chocolates. There was one of just about every type of chocolate imaginable. Her mouth watered at the sight even as her stomach reminded her she was still over full. "Thank you," she hugged Rhonda.

There were two more presents still to open and Harriet reluctantly set aside the chocolates and opened the gift from Herman. He hadn't been able to come as his parents had planned a trip to the United States that year and they'd insisted he come along.

Inside the plain brown wrapping paper was a new broomstick servicing kit. Harriet eyed it reverently. She would have to remember to send him a thank you letter. She might even part with a few chocolates by way of thanks; she knew his sweet tooth was as great as hers.

"A broomstick servicing kit?" Mr. Weasley asked, "I didn't know first years were allowed brooms.

"Da-ad, I told you Harriet made the Quidditch team last year. She has a Nimbus 2000. She is the youngest seeker in a century," Rhonda explained.

"Oh, well, congratulations young lady. I suppose that kit will come in right handy then," Mr. Weasley said, embarrassed.

"That's okay, Mr. Weasley," Harriet replied.

"You must call me Arthur, my dear."

"I'll try. It may take me a while to remember," Harriet responded, picking up the final package. It was from Frederica and Georgia. Inside was a variety of candies, including a bag of jelly beans. Harriet reached in and immediately pulled out a blue one.

"Wa—"Frederica watched in horror as Harriet popped the blue bean into her mouth.

"Mmm, this is good," Harriet looked at the others who were staring at her in horror. "What's wrong?" She lifted her hand to scratch her nose and screamed.

"What is happening to me?" Her hands were covered in large blue scales that glittered iridescently in the candle light.

"You weren't supposed to eat them," Georgia whispered, "they are prank candies, to use on your enemies."

"Get her the antidote," Mrs. Weasley commanded.

"We don't have one completed. It wears off naturally after a week. You can't use Finite either, it makes things worse," Frederica explained.

Harriet shrank back as Mrs. Weasley's color increased, she could almost feel the anger rolling off the woman. Arthur, worried about his wife's temper placed a hand on her arm. "Mollywobbles…"

She shrugged him off, "don't Mollywobbles me, Arthur," she turned to look at the contrite twins, "to your room. I will let you know when I have decided on a punishment, until then, no experimenting. I expect to find that you've completed your summer homework before you will get any more activities this summer." The twins blanched and raced off to their rooms. Molly turned to Harriet, "I'm so sorry, my dear."

Harriet shook her head, "don't worry about it, Mrs. Wea – I mean, Molly. The twins didn't really mean any harm. I can survive looking like this for a week." Molly calmed visibly when she realized the twins hadn't alienated Rhonda's best friend.

Later that evening, in the privacy of Rhonda's room, Harriet opened her gift from Dora. Inside the package were three tiny books and a note.

_Harriet, just tap the books with your wand and they will expand. Thought these might be useful. Love, Dora_

Harriet drew her wand and tapped the books. When they were full size, she picked them up and looked at the covers. The first two were muggle titles. The first was a black book with colorful designs on the cover, titled: _Puberty Survival Guide for Girls _by Eve Anne Ashby, the second, also a muggle book, was titled: _Girl Stuff: A Survival Guide to Growing Up _by Margaret Blackstone. The third book was written by a witch by the name of Slendah Silhouette, titled: _Suddenly Witchy, A Guide for Adolescent Witches._ They goggled at the books for a moment and then collapsed together on Rhonda's bed, giggling.

"Why'd she get you those?" Rhonda asked a few minutes later once she'd managed to get control of herself long enough to breathe.

"I got the scarlet visitor for the first time last month. Cousin Andi had to explain things to me, Uncle Toby was too embarrassed," Harriet explained, remembering the look on her Uncle's face. It had taken him a week to look her in the eyes after that incident.

"Oh. I can't wait for mine," Rhonda breathed with excitement.

"I know. The cramps are killer, but Cousin Andi and Cousin Dora took me shopping for underthings the weekend after since Cousin Andi says I'm growing up now."

The two girls giggled as they paged through the books Dora had sent, laughing quietly at various points of the book. Harriet's skin was still covered in bright blue scales which stood out loudly against the plain white nightgown she wore, but she was too hyped to notice. It was the wee hours before both girls fell into an exhausted sleep on Rhonda's bed.

A/N: Well, I had intended to get the Diagon Alley/Flourish & Blotts scene in this chapter, but it is long enough as is. We will get our first introduction to Lockhart in the next chapter. Be afraid, be very very afraid.


	5. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Also, this fic is listed as 'M' rating, mainly for later chapters/books, so I am assuming that anyone reading this story is 'of age' and has no objection to sometimes adult oriented material. If you do object, please find something else to read. _

_Well, folks, here's the next chapter…_

_This chapter is a bit longer than previous chapters, but I am hoping to make this length my new goal for most of the chapters in the future._

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 4:

Harriet followed Rhonda into the Ford Anglia, eyes wide. Somehow the car had expanded to fit eight people, six large trunks, two owls, complete with cages, and Scabbers' cage comfortably. Mr. Weasley saw her looking around and smiled at her, "Undetectable extension charm," he explained as he slid behind the wheel.

Harriet grinned back, "Cool."

The ride to the Leaky Cauldron was noisy as Frederica and Georgia teased Patricia almost mercilessly about her boyfriend, Peter Clearwater. She could see Patricia getting redder by the minute, but knew if she said anything it would only make matters worse, so she was quite relieved when Mrs. Weasley finally threatened to take away the twins' experiments if they didn't leave Patty alone. Harriet was the only one who saw Patricia wince at the nickname, and resolved herself never to call the young woman by such an unfavorable name.

Diagon Alley was busier than Harriet had ever seen it, but before she could do more than wonder, they were inside Gringotts. She felt embarrassed when they stopped at her vault first and all of the Weasleys could see how much gold was in it. She felt ashamed when they arrived at the Weasley vault and she watched as Mrs. Weasley scraped every last coin out of the vault to by Gryff's and the girls' school supplies with. It was a crime how little Mr. Weasley was paid for a job that was vital to the secrecy of the wizarding world.

Once they were back outside, the group split up. Patricia headed off to buy a quill, and the twins wandered off, looking for their friend, Lee Jordan.

Herman was waiting for them on the steps of Gringotts, accompanied by his eldest sister, whom he introduced as Cassandra. Cassandra was a taller, female version of Herman, right down to the chocolate brown eyes and frizzy hair. Mr. Weasley greeted her with enthusiasm, excited by the idea of meeting a muggle. Mrs. Weasley dragged a reluctant Gryff off to the second-hand robe shop, admonishing Rhonda and Harriet to meet her at Flourish and Blotts in an hour and warned them to steer clear of Knockturn Alley.

The three of them spent the next hour wandering around Diagon Alley, checking out the shops. They separated at one point when Harriet wanted to go into Quality Quidditch Supplies and neither of her friends cared to join her. Rhonda and Herman wandered down to the Menagerie to look at the animals.

Harriet gazed around the shop in awe. She had never seen so much Quidditch stuff in her life. Her uncle enjoyed having the Quidditch Cup in his office, but he had little interest in playing the game. She was in a corner of the shop, looking at the new Nimbus 2001, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"I promised Flint we would get new brooms for the entire team. It was the only way he would let me be seeker," Draco's nasally voice sounded from the front of the store. Harriet peered around the corner to see Draco Malfoy standing next to a tall Platinum haired man who couldn't be anyone other than his father.

"Perhaps some Cleansweep Thirteens for all of you then," Mr. Malfoy suggested, admiring the latest Cleansweep model.

"But dad, Potter has a Nimbus 2000. Our team will never win with Cleansweeps. We need the Nimbus 2001's."

Harriet and the shop owner both winced as Draco's whine reached another decibel; even Mr. Malfoy was beginning to look harassed. He looked over at the Nimbus 2001 displayed in the window, and Harriet could see him calculating the cost of buying seven of them. She couldn't imagine buying new brooms for everyone on the team. "Pathetic," she whispered to herself as she turned back to the rack of seeker's gloves she had been examining before they walked in. She chose a pair for herself, made of Ukrainian Ironbelly leather, and wandered over to the chaser section.

She and Gryffin had discovered they shared a mutual love of quidditch over the last couple of weeks she had been there. Harriet recalled the countless hours they had spent flying competitively against each other. They'd tried to convince Rhonda and the twins to join them with no success. She'd been astounded at how good his flying was. If he hadn't been so determined to pick up a chaser position in a year or so, she'd have been worried he was after her spot. Harriet examined the supple leather chaser's gloves on display, and finally settled on a pair of black Chinese Fireball gloves. She planned to present them to Gryffin for his birthday tomorrow.

"Would you like me to wrap those up for you, miss?" The clerk asked as she laid the gloves on the counter. Before she could answer, she heard Draco's sneering voice behind her.

"Potter, what are _you_ doing here?"

The storekeeper gaped at her, his eyes going up to the scar she had tried to hide behind her bangs. She ignored him and turned toward her nemesis.

"Isn't it obvious, _Malfoy_, I'm buying quidditch supplies. That _is_ what you do in a quidditch supply shop isn't it?" She asked, adopting the same sneering tone he had just used.

"Watch your tone around your betters, young lady," Lucius Malfoy scolded her. She looked them both up and down before turning her back on them; sure she was safe in the presence of the shop keeper.

"No thanks on that wrapping; I'll have Mrs. Weasley help me with it later. What is the total?" She inquired, in a hurry to leave.

"Ten galleons," the clerk replied. When she opened her mouth to question that amount, he shook his head and looked pointedly over her shoulder.

She clamped her mouth shut and paid the galleons, but she couldn't resist a parting shot as she exited the store. "I don't see anyone here who is my better. I'll see you on the quidditch pitch, Malfoy. It's nice to know Professor McGonagall isn't going to have to worry about losing the cup to Slytherin this year."

She left the shop before either Malfoy could retaliate, pondering the actions of the clerk. The gloves had been priced at eight galleons a pair, but he'd only charged her ten. Why had he given her a discount? She had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with her response to Draco. She got the feeling the owner didn't like the Malfoys much.

It didn't take long for her to find Herman and Rhonda. They were at Fortescue's Ice Cream Shoppe. As they ate their Peanut Butter and Strawberry ice creams, she told them about the Malfoys. They had a good laugh over the idea of Draco Malfoy as Slytherin's new seeker.

"We're sure to win the cup again this year with him as seeker," Rhonda laughed, taking another bite of her cone.

HLPHLPHLP

_An hour later, they headed to Flourish and Blotts. They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:_

_GILDEROY LOCKHEART_

_will be signing copies of his autobiography _

_MAGICAL ME_

_Today 12:30 __P.M.__ to 4:30 __P.M. _

"_We can actually meet him!" _Rhonda _squealed_. _"I mean, he's written almost the whole book list!"_

Harriet rolled her eyes. It figured that the only books Rhonda would take a real interest in would happen to belong to a man Harriet's uncle had scathingly condemned as a narcissistic glory hound. When she asked, he'd told her that they had gone to school together and the boy was notorious for making outrageous claims about things he had supposedly done.

The crowd around her consisted mostly of older witches, though there were a few wizards of varying ages and a few younger witches gathered around as well. _A harassed looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies….Don't push, there….mind the books, now…."_

The three of them found themselves pushed inside by the crush of the crowd. There was a long line stretching to the back of the shop. A tall, blonde wizard was seated there, signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, _before joining Cassandra Granger and the rest of the Weasleys in line.

"_Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute…." _

_Gilderoy Lockheart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzling white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockheart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair._

Harriet and Gryffin shared a look of disgust at the elated sighs coming from Mrs. Weasley, the twins, and Rhonda. Only Patricia seemed unaffected by his looks, her nose was currently buried in _The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6._

A short, crabby-looking photographer was shifting around, _taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash_.

"Ow, watch where you are going!" Rhonda cried.

The camera man looked over at her where she was rubbing the foot he'd just tromped on. "Stay out of my way, girl. This is for the Daily Prophet," he snarled at her.

"Big deal, You should still watch where you are going," Rhonda snarled back, tears leaking down her cheeks.

Gilderoy Lockheart looked up, and saw Rhonda hopping around. His gaze moved past Harriet for a moment before returning and zeroing in on her. He stared for a full minute before he jumped to his feet, exclaiming loudly, "It can't be, Harriet Potter?"

Harriet hunched her shoulders as the crowd murmured around her. She hated being the center of attention – except at quidditch games, of course, but that was because she felt she'd earned that.

The crowd moved aside as Lockheart came forward. He wrapped his hand around her arm and dragged her to the front of the crowd. When he let go of her arm, she tried to slide back into the crowd, very self-conscious about being the center of attention. Lockheart grabbed her again before she could move, keeping a firm grip on her arm as he pulled her around to face the camera. "Smile, my dear, _together you and I are worth the front page_," he smiled down at her, draping his other arm over her shoulder to keep her in place. She could feel his hand caressing the back of her shoulder. She shuddered, trying unsuccessfully to pull away again. _"Ladies and Gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary day this is! The perfect moment for me to make an announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young _Harriet_ here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, _she_ only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present to _her_ now, free of charge –"_The crowd applauded again. Harriet sent a pleading look towards Rhonda and Herman. From her expression, it was obvious that Rhonda was oblivious to her discomfort, but both Herman and Gryff looked fit to kill. Both were struggling futilely against the crowd, intent to come to her aid, but the press of people was preventing any forward motion_._

"She _had no idea,"_ _Lockheart continued, giving_ _Harriet a little shake that caused the glasses to slide to the end of her nose, "that she would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, MAGICAL ME. She and her school-mates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me."_ Harriet's groan was drowned out by his next words, _"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have the great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September; I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."_

Harriet groaned again as the crowd applauded. She wrenched herself out of his grasp but hadn't gone more than a couple of steps before she was pulled back and presented with his entire works. She was staggering under the weight of the books when Gryffin, slightly farther ahead in line than Herman, pushed his way through the crowd to her side. "Let me carry some of those," he whispered, taking two-thirds of the stack from her, his cauldron swinging from his wrist, several very used books inside.

"Take them all, please," she hissed back at him. _"I'll buy my own –"_

"_Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter," _Harriet had no problem recognizing Draco Malfoy's sneering voice. He stopped in front of her, hands on his hips.

"_Famous Harry Potter," _he said, "_can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page." _He was almost in her face until Gryff, half a head taller than he was, pushed him away.

"Leave her be, she didn't ask for any of that," Gryff snarled, glaring at Malfoy.

"_Potter, you've got yourself a _boyfriend!" Malfoy drawled.

Gryffin and Harriet both blushed scarlet. Rhonda and Herman joined them at that moment, both carrying huge stacks of Lockheart's books.

Draco paled as he realized he was now outnumbered, and was beginning to back away when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder. Lucius Malfoy stood behind him, sneering down at them with a look nearly identical to the one Draco usually wore.

"Well, well, what have we here? Blood Traitors, Half-bloods," he made the word sound like an epithet, "and –" he trailed off as Arthur Weasley came up behind them.

"What's going on here?"

"_Well, Well, Well – Arthur Weasley."_

"_Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly._

"_Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids….I hope they're paying you overtime?" he reached into Gryff's cauldron and extracted a very old, very battered copy of A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO TRANSFIGURATION._

"_Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"_

All three of the Weasleys present flushed scarlet.

"_We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," _Mr. Weasley said.

Harriet began inching backwards, tugging at the sleeves of the others, trying to pull them back from what looked like it was about to escalate into a brawl. Herman quickly got the same idea, and began pulling Rhonda back though the crowd. He was successful, but by the time, Harriet got a good grip on Gryff's arm and began trying to pull him back, the crowd had closed in around her.

"_Clearly,"_ Mr. Malfoy said, _his gaze straying over to where _Herman's sister_ was standing, watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley…and I thought your family could sink no lower –"_

Harriet pulled Gryffin back just as his cauldron went flying. Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, crashing them into a bookshelf.

"Go Dad!" The twins yelled encouragement at their father. _"No, Arthur, no," _Mrs. Weasley shrieked. The crowd rushed forward, knocking more bookshelves over in the process.

Suddenly Hagrid waded into the crowd, crushing the fallen books beneath his weight as he moved toward the struggling combatants. He pulled the two men apart. Mr. Weasley's lip was cut, and Mr. Malfoy had a black eye where he'd been hit by a book. _He still held_ Gryff's _old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at _him_, eyes glittering with malice._

"_Here, _boy_ – take your book – it's the best your father can give you –" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip, he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop._

A/N: Italics in this chapter is text taken from _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. _I decided not to add any more to this chapter as we are already over 2500 words. I will cover Gryff's birthday party and the trip to the platform in the next chapter. From here on out, things are going to diverge more strongly from book 2.

Yes, before you ask, Lockheart is going to be portrayed as a much bigger creep than he was even in the books. Harry saw him from a boy's point of view. Harriet will be seeing him in a different light altogether.


	6. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_***Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. It is almost the end of the quarter and I have been swamped. Please look for 1-2 chapters a week starting the week of December 9**__**th**__**.**_

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 5:

Gryff woke to the sunlight streaming in his window. A light breeze tossed the curtains and fluttered the corners of the Puddlemere United posters decorating his walls. He stretched and sat up. A flurry of giggles from Rhonda's room told him that she and Harriet were already awake and he would have to rush if he wished to shower before noon. He could smell the wonderful aroma of his favorite breakfast of pancakes, sausage and hash browns. He gathered his clothing and a towel and rushed down the hall. Patricia was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, drying her hair, a large towel obscuring her body. When she saw him, she smiled. "Happy birthday, Gryffin, I'll be finished in a sec."

Sure enough, a moment later, he was ensconced in the bathroom, wiping steam off the mirror. He turned toward the shower, but before he had a chance to turn the knobs, a scream echoed through the burrow followed by a loud pounding. He rushed to the door and peered out. Patricia was standing outside the twins' door, pounding on it. Her hair stood straight up on her head, and was flashing scarlet and gold. Gryff closed the bathroom door quickly, snickering. Reaching into a cupboard under the sink, he removed a bottle of shampoo and placed it on the rack in the bathroom, replacing it with the bottle Patricia had just used. He'd originally intended the prank for one of the twins, but this was even better. He turned on the shower and stepped inside.

A few minutes later, he entered the kitchen of the Burrow, clad in black jeans and a white t-shirt. "Nice hair," he whispered to Patricia as he sat down at the table between Frederica and Harriet. Mrs. Weasley scowled at the twins before turning to him.

"Good morning, Gryff, happy birthday," she set a heaping plateful of his favorite foods before him and directed a tall glass of pumpkin juice to sit before him. He mumbled a "thank you," before diving in.

HLPHLPHLP

They flew around the makeshift quidditch pitch, laughing. He'd teamed up with Frederica and they'd played two-man quidditch against Harriet and Georgia. They hadn't used a snitch, just an old quaffle of Charlene's. After an hour of chasing each other around, trying to see who could score the most goals, the four of them landed, laughing.

"Merlin, Harriet, if you weren't seeker, Gryff here might have some competition when it comes to getting on the team." Georgia gasped, clutching her Comet 260.

"I might have competition anyway if he decides to try out for seeker," Harriet replied, smiling at Gryff.

"Nah, I'd rather be chaser. Besides, with both of us on the team, we are almost guaranteed the cup," Gryff replied, handing Harriet's Nimbus 2000 back to her. "That is some broom. I'll have to find a summer job if I want to save up for one." He admired the broom for a moment more before turning his attention back to Harriet. "Thanks for the gloves; by the way, they work great." He carefully peeled them off and tucked them into a pocket of his jeans.

"I thought you would like them. I got myself a pair of seeker gloves and thought you might enjoy a pair of your own." She walked toward the broom shed, Gryff close beside her. The twins sprinted ahead, leaving them alone.

"So, what is Hogwarts really like?" Gryff asked.

"It's wonderful, well, except for the whole Quirrel thing anyway," Harriet replied.

"Yeah, so what really happened with that?"

"He tried to kill me in the hallway outside his office. He had Voldemort attached to the back of his head," she shuddered and took a deep breath. "To make a long story short, we fought, I passed out, and Professors McGonagall and Snape saved me," she summed up, uncomfortable with discussing the details of that night.

Gryff frowned, "sorry. I didn't think about the fact that you might not want to talk about it."

"I don't like to talk about it. Be careful of Lockhart this year, he gives me the creeps," Harriet whispered, "Besides, I'm almost certain he's a fraud."

"He looked like he was rubbing his hand on your shoulder?" Gryff asked, remembering the photo shoot in Flourish and Blotts.

"He was. It was really creepy. The problem is your mum thinks I was imagining things. She thinks he can do no wrong."

They stowed their brooms in the shed and wandered to the orchard to find Rhonda. It took ten minutes of searching before they found her, up a tree, sitting on a branch. She waved down at them and then frowned.

"So what's up with the hand-holding?"

"What?" Gryff and Harriet looked down to discover that somewhere along the way they'd joined hands. They pulled away, blushing. Gryff thrust his hands into his pockets.

"When did that happen? I don't remember taking your hand?" Harriet mused, her face still crimson.

"That's odd, I don't recall that either," he looked up at Rhonda. "I swear, if you say anything about this to anyone, you'll be getting a tarantula for Christmas.

Rhonda, who'd been planning to tease her brother about it, blanched. "You wouldn't dare. Mum would kill you," she bluffed.

"Rhonda, please don't say anything, especially after we get to Hogwarts. I'd hate to think what they'd start saying about us," Harriet pled.

Rhonda sighed, "I won't mention it to anyone, but don't let the twins see it, or you'll never live it down."

The three of them spent the rest of the day in the orchard, discussing Hogwarts and the teachers and classes.

HLPHLPHLP

The trip to platform 93/4 was frenzied. Rhonda and the twins were scrambling around, trying to cram last-minute items into their trunks. Harriet and Gryff were seated at the kitchen table alongside Patricia, whose hair was now back to normal, finishing up breakfast. Their trunks were already loaded into the Ford Anglia along with Hedwig's cage. Hedwig was perched on the back of Harriet's chair, nibbling a piece of bacon.

Gryff leaned over, "thanks for helping me pack."

Harriet finished chewing and took a sip of pumpkin juice before answering, "No problem. Uncle always insists I have my trunk ready the night before, so I had nothing else to do. Rhonda wasn't up yet, and I'm not about to touch her stuff without asking."

Mrs. Weasley hollered up the stairs, "You girls have five minutes."

Ten minutes later, they were all crowded into the Weasleys' car, headed for London.

They met up with Herman and Cassandra just outside the barrier to the platform.

"Have you ever been to platform 93/4 before, my dear?" Mr. Weasley asked Cassandra.

"No, but I've been quite looking forward to the experience."

"All you do is go through that pillar there," he gestured, "Why don't you watch and we'll show you how it's done, then you can come through with Harriet and Rhonda," he suggested.

"That sounds fair," Cassandra stepped back beside the pair of giggling girls, watching as the twins and Mrs. Weasley went through, followed by Mr. Weasley, Gryff, and Herman.

"That doesn't seem too hard," Cassandra commented.

"It's easy, just stay beside us," Harriet advised. They glided toward the barrier, pushing their trolleys before them.

There was a jarring *crash* as they collided with a solid wall, and bobby came walking over to see what had happened. Harriet helped Rhonda and Cassandra up and they began to pick up the scattered luggage. Hedwig glared at Harriet as she placed the cage atop the pile on her trolley.

"What's going on here? Are you alright Ma'am?" the bobby asked.

"Yeah, we are all fine. I wasn't watching where I was going and I ran into these young ladies, quite literally if I may say so," Cassandra lied blandly to the man.

Harriet and Rhonda looked up at her, a shocked respect in their eyes. They were interrupted by the loud *bong-bong-* of the clock.

"Oh, no, we've missed it!" Rhonda gasped.

"Where are you girls headed?" the bobby asked.

"We were supposed to catch the eleven o'clock. We were talking and lost track of mum and dad," Harriet stretched the truth slightly. The bobby looked them over again, taking note of the trunks and the cages holding Hedwig and Scabbers.

"If you young ladies come with me, I'll show you to the lounge. You can wait there while I send a message to the Headmaster so someone can come and pick you girls up," He winked at the shocked expressions on their faces.

HLPHLPHLP

They had been sitting for two hours playing muggle rummy with Herman's sister when a gasp from Cassandra had them looking up. Professor Snape was standing before them, wearing muggle slacks with a black shirt and green tie. He had a matching black jacket over the top.

"Professor," Cassandra said standing up, "how are you?"

"Never better, yourself?" Snape asked.

Rhonda goggled, mouth hanging open. Harriet grinned and reached over, closing her mouth with one finger.

"I am great. I just finished my internship in the States," Cassandra's eyes were shining.

"That is good to hear. You must be Herman's sister. I'm here to escort Miss Potter and Miss Weasley to school," He replied formally.

"I didn't realize you taught at Hogwarts, sir. Are family members allowed to tour the school?" Cassandra asked eagerly. She had plied Arthur and Molly for hours about information regarding the wizarding world, clearly as fascinated by the wizarding world as Arthur was with the muggle one.

"I am not sure of the policy regarding muggle families touring the school. I will enquire with the Headmaster and see if something can be arranged. Your brother can send you an owl if we can arrange something. Unfortunately, I am running behind schedule and must postpone any further discussion for another time," he turned toward Harriet and Rhonda. "Miss Weasley, Miss Potter, if the two of you would please accompany me," he gestured before him, and the two girls said goodbye to Cassandra and headed for the door.

Looking around to ensure no one else was watching, Severus Snape waved his wand and shrank their trunks, placing them in his pockets. He then bowed politely to Cassandra and followed the girls out.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N: Thank you to my loyal readers. Just a note to let you know I am changing the Rating on HLP, HLP2, & HLP3 (forthcoming) to 'T'. Further story ratings are undecided at this time.


	7. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 6:

"Please explain to me how two intelligent young women managed to miss the Hogwarts Express," Professor Snape enquired as they turned down an unused hallway near the office of the train station.

"We're not sure, sir. The wall was solid. We crashed right into it when we tried to go through," Harriet replied, still confused over the closing of the portal.

"The Headmaster will look into it. I am sure there were probably complaints from parents who tried to return the same way," Snape assured them.

Rhonda, who looked like she'd been puzzling something over in her mind, spoke up, "Excuse me, Professor, but how do you know Miss Granger?"

"That is really none of your concern, Miss Weasley. I suggest you find something else to occupy your mind other than my private life," Snape's voice was coldly formal. Harriet glanced over at him, disconcerted by the change in his tone. A moment later they stopped walking and Professor Snape looked around. The moment he was certain no one was watching, he pulled out a book and tapped it with his wand. "PORTUS."

The book glowed blue.

"This is a portkey, it leaves in thirty seconds. I need you both to place your hands on the book. Don't let go," he instructed, holding the book out.

They both placed their hands on the book, Rhonda more tentatively than Harriet.

"I hate portkey travel," Rhonda muttered just before the hook sensation anchored itself in their stomachs and they found themselves being pulled elsewhere.

HLPHLPHLP

They arrived in Hogsmeade well before the Hogwarts express. Professor Snape, now back to his strict professor demeanor, escorted them briskly to the gates of Hogwarts where Professor McGonagall stood waiting.

"Thank you, Severus," McGonagall said when he turned the girls over to her.

He nodded, hurrying off toward the castle, his black jacket billowing behind him like his robes. Harriet snickered when she saw this. McGonagall's eyes turned towards her.

"Something funny, Miss Potter?"

"No, ma'am," Harriet whispered, a bit intimidated by the stern woman.

Professor McGonagall continued to eye her for a bit, "very well, come with me. You two can help me finish setting up the transfiguration classroom, and while you are at it, you can tell me how two of my brightest students managed to miss the Hogwarts Express." She turned on her heel and strode away. Rhonda and Harriet hurried behind, struggling to keep up.

A little while later Harriet struggled to levitate the last desk into place as Rhonda finished explaining the situation at King's Cross Station.

"I see. Very well, you girls may head down to the great hall now, the rest of the students will be arriving soon," Professor McGonagall instructed.

Harriet and Rhonda were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the great hall when the rest of the students drifted in.  
"There you are, I've been looking all over for you," Herman exclaimed as he slid into the seat next to Rhonda. "What happened to you two anyway?"

"The barrier closed on us. The headmaster sent Professor Snape to escort us to the school. We'll tell you more later," Harriet whispered as Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on the stool at the front of the hall. Around her, the mumbling trickled to a halt as the first years were escorted in. Harriet could see Gryff standing nervously in the center of the crowd, when their eyes met, she gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled nervously back, his hands clutching a thin black book. Harriet felt a sharp twinge in her scar for a moment and subconsciously raised her hand to her forehead.

"Are you alright?" Rhonda whispered.

"I think so. My scar just hurt for a moment, that's all."

Harriet listened indifferently as many of the first years were sorted. She wasn't surprised with Percival Abbott made it into Hufflepuff with his sister, or when an obviously Muggleborn boy by the name of Colin something was sorted into Gryffindor. She did frown and blink her eyes rapidly though when a camera flash-bulb went off in her face.

"Oy, what was that for?" Herman demanded.

"She's Harriet Potter. I've wanted to meet her for so long," Colin gushed, turning to Harriet, "Can I have your autograph."

Harriet growled. "I don't sign autographs and I hate my fame. Don't ask me again." She was still worrying over the strange events at King's Cross, and her uncle's odd behavior toward Cassandra Granger. She'd never seen him act so out of character in front of a student before. Her attention was drawn back to the great hall as 'Weasley, Gryffin' was called. Harriet watched, a bit surprised, as the sorting hat took its time deliberating over his placement. Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was probably closer to two minutes, the sorting hat finally called out "GRIFFINDOR!"

Harriet gave a welcoming smile as Gryffin slid into the seat next to her. She'd deliberately tried to leave space, hoping he'd be sorted into their house. Gryffin quickly tucked the thin book into his robes.

"What is that?" Harriet asked, curiously.

"Oh, it's just my journal, Dad got it for me," he explained.

"Oh. How was the train ride?" she asked.

"It was good. I sat with little Luna Lovegood and a kid named Colin Creevy, Oh, hi Colin," he said, noticing the boy sitting across from them. Colin just frowned a bit, nodding his head in response.

"What's up with him?" he asked.

"I don't like rabid fans," Harriet muttered, taking a scoop of the mashed potatoes that had just appeared in front of her. She slid the bowl toward Gryff and reached for the tray of glazed carrots next.

Gryffin glanced from her to Colin, and back again. "Oh. He's harmless, he just doesn't understand."

"I get that, but very few people seem to," she replied. "Don't get me wrong, Uncle Toby is great, but I'd give anything, most especially all of my fame just to have my mum and dad back."

Colin colored across from her, suddenly understanding where she was coming from. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't think about that."

"Few do. Your apology is accepted. Please ask before taking pictures of someone in the future though."

"Right," he turned his focus toward filling his plate heaping full of food.

Gryff squeezed Harriet's hand beneath the table, "if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here," he whispered quietly.

Harriet sent him a small smile, "thanks, I may take you up on that some time." They enjoyed the remainder of their meal in peace, the quiet murmuring of discussions going on around them unable to penetrate the quiet air. Harriet thought about her parents as she ate and all they had sacrificed for her. It was obvious after the incident last year that Voldemort wasn't fully dead and she was determined that prophesy or not, she would not allow their sacrifice to be in vain. Even Professor Dumbledore's introduction of Lockheart as the new DADA professor, and other announcements could not penetrate the melancholy that was slowly beginning to settle over her.

"Hey, you alright?" Rhonda asked as the headed to their dorms.

"Yeah, just thinking about my parents."

"Oh," Rhonda fell quiet beside her as they both stepped over the trick stair.

OoOoOoO

A/N: Sorry about the delay in posting. I finished finals for the quarter and have been recuperating.


	8. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Okay, so last chapter was pretty short; hopefully I can make up for it this chapter. ;)_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 7:

It would have been nice to say that the next day dawned bright and sunny, but the torrents of rain sluicing down from the heavens gave lie to that hope. Harriet woke to the sound of rain lashing against the windows. Reaching out with one hand she blearily patted around on her nightstand until she found her glasses. Able to see clearly once again, she sent a glare at the windows. It would have to rain the first day back to school. She looked at her wristwatch. It was a Mickey Mouse wristwatch with a plain black band. Her uncle had purchased it for her just before she turned eleven so she would not have to worry about being late for class. She climbed out of bed and began her stretches. Every day began the same way, stretch for fifteen minutes, katas for another thirty, then three times a week she would run a mile and a half. The other four days she included a cardio workout or practiced new katas her sensei had assigned. Once that was done, she showered and headed to breakfast, where uncle Toby expected her to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Only then was she allowed to indulge her sweet-tooth, in moderation of course.

The entire schedule had been designed for her by her uncle Toby and his old friend, Master Han Li, her Shao Lin instructor. Uncle Toby may seem like an indulgent uncle at times, but when it came to her health and safety, he was quite strict. She remembered the lecture she had received the first night back from Hogwarts at the beginning of summer:

"_Never, ever put yourself in danger like that again. I nearly had heart failure when Minerva and I came upon you fighting with Quirrel," he thundered at her, pacing back and forth in front of the cottage fireplace._

"_I didn't mean to put myself in danger. I didn't go seeking it out. It kind of came upon me when I wasn't expecting it. I was actually headed for the dorm to change. Quidditch practice ran late and I didn't want to show up in the great hall sweaty and covered from head to toe in mud," Harriet argued back, convinced of the rightness of her argument._

"_Promise me that if you ever find yourself in danger again you will go to the nearest teacher," he hissed, visibly stressed._

"_I will. I can't imagine anything that would induce me to go charging into danger heedlessly. I do have some sense of self-preservation after all."_

_He visibly calmed. "I'm sorry, I just worry about you. If you died, your mother's ghost would probably come back from the dead to haunt me for the rest of my life," he joked._

Harry returned to the present, finishing her stretches. She had just begun her katas when she heard Rhonda's voice ask, "what are you doing?"

"I am practicing my katas."

"What's a ka-ta?" Rhonda asked, brow furled in confusion as she sat up in bed.

"It is a movement in martial arts, in this case, a form of Kung-fu called Shao Lin," Harriet explained.

Rhonda looked at her blankly and shook her head. "Blimey, I can't imagine getting up that early every morning just to exercise."

"You get used to it. I have been doing it for so long that it feels unnatural to sleep past six a.m. anymore. You should try it, it helps keep the body healthy and also teaches you moves that can help you if you need to protect yourself," Harriet advised, tactfully not mentioning the fact that it would also help prevent pudginess caused by consuming large quantities of food.

"No way, there is absolutely nothing that could induce me to get up at the crack of dawn every morning just to exercise. You are barmy," Rhonda buried her head under her pillow, attempting to go back to sleep. Harriet shrugged and returned to her katas, picturing the movements in her mind as she performed them. The smooth shift and flow of the katas relaxed her body and mind and she soon sank into a trance.

HLPHLPHLP

They received their class schedules at breakfast, along with a long letter from Mrs. Weasley concerning the incident at King's Cross Station.

_My Dearest Rhonda, and Harriet too, of course,_

_Your father and I were greatly concerned when we realized that the two of you had not crossed over and we became even more concerned when the train left with the two of you still not aboard. We tried to return through the barrier, but were unable to pass through from our direction as well. For some strange reason, we were unable to apparate back either. Your father lost an eyebrow when he splinched himself attempting to. _

_It was a great relief, therefore, when Headmaster Dumbledore sent us an owl informing us that the school had been notified of the problem and a professor sent to retrieve you – I swear I'm going to kiss that dear squib for being so helpful. _

_Also, please tell Gryffin we said 'congratulations on getting into Gryffindor.'_

_Love, _

_Mum_

Harriet and Rhonda laughed at the thought of Mrs. Weasley kissing the bobby who had assisted them on the platform. It was only glares from Patricia and several of the Gryffindor prefects that silenced the giggling and had them returning to their plates.

Harriet was almost finished with her eggs when Gryffin slid into the seat beside her. She glanced over at him and was immediately concerned. He was paler than usual and had faint smudges beneath his eyes, attesting to his lack of sleep. She nudged him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…I just didn't sleep well. New bed and all, you know," he gave her a smile and reached for the plate of sausage.

Relieved that it was just homesickness, Harriet returned to her breakfast, reaching for the tray of fruit, and plucking forth a peach which she promptly bit into.

Breakfast passed quickly and they soon found themselves hurrying to the first class of the day, herbology.

"Harry, can you sign this for me?" a voice called out? Harriet looked over to see a group of first and second year Ravenclaws standing there holding out notepads. She was just about to light into them when another voice broke in.

"Famous Harriet Potter, can't go ten feet without your fan club," the unwelcome voice of Draco Malfoy sneered.

"Bugger off, Malfoy," Harriet started, only to be cut off by Professor Sprout's reprimand.

"Language, Miss Potter. Five points from Gryffindor. Now, get to class, all of you."

Harriet looked up to see Professor Sprout coming toward them, accompanied by Professor Lockhart. They moved in the direction of the greenhouses, but Harriet was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope you will forgive Miss Potter for being a minute or two late, but I must speak with her," Professor Lockhart's oily voice crawled across Harriet's skin like a particularly unpleasant insect. Professor Sprout, looking as though she would like to object, nodded.

"Harriet, I must advise against giving autographs at your age," Lockhart began only to be cut off by a furious Harriet.

"Professor Lockhart, far be it from me to disrespect any teacher, however, if you do not remove your hand from my person, I swear I will hex your bits permanently," she hissed, pointing her wand at a particularly sensitive part of his anatomy.

He pulled his hand back as though burned before sneering down at her, "even though you may be almost as famous as me, you have no right to threaten a teacher. Fifty points from Gryffindor and a week of detention in my office starting at 7 p.m. tonight," he growled, dropping his normally sunny demeanor. He turned and stormed off toward the castle. Harriet hurried to herbology, her mind recoiling in horror at the thought of detention with Lockhart.

Herbology class that day covered the mandrake plant. Harriet stared in fascination at the ugly root-baby dangling from the bottom of the plant she was holding up. She'd seen pictures of the nasty little plant-creatures in a herbology book she'd borrowed from Uncle Severus' library a couple of summers ago, but this was the first time she'd seen a real one. Her uncle considered them too dangerous for a young child to be exposed to, and she knew he'd even protested when he'd realized they were going to be covering them in herbology this year.

_I don't know why Pomona thinks it wise to introduce second-years to such a dangerous plant. Something like that is NEWT level at the very least," he'd raged. _

Harriet had wisely kept silent. Her uncle sometimes went overboard with his protectiveness. It was annoying, but at the same time, left her with a warm, fuzzy feeling. The potting of the Mandrakes went off without a hitch. Even the annoyingly cheerful Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchley, couldn't spoil the class for her. Herbology wasn't always her favorite subject, but every so often they came across a plant that drew her interest, such as the mandrake.

Transfiguration was by far Harriet's hardest class. Uncle Severus had told her, grudgingly, that her father was a natural at transfiguration. It seemed she had not inherited his knack. She bit her lip in concentration as she once again attempted to turn her reluctant beetle into a button. Heedless of her failed attempts, the beetle once again headed for the edge of her desk in a frantic bid for freedom. Rhonda was having similar problems. A hand-me-down from one of her deceased relatives, Rhonda's wand frequently gave her trouble in her classes. Harriet wondered what it would take to convince Mrs. Weasley to buy her one of her own and resolved to ask her about it the next time she saw her.

She watched, slightly miffed, as Herman effortlessly turned his beetle into a button and back again, Harriet made a vow that she would work twice as hard at mastering transfiguration.

HLPHLPHLP

Harriet was busily consuming the large chef-salad she had put together for lunch from the ingredients on the table when an owl swooped down and deposited a letter. Seeing who it was from, she quickly tucked it into her robes and shook her head at Rhonda and Gryff when they looked at her curiously. 'Later,' she mouthed.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as Gryff picked at his food. If he wasn't looking better by tomorrow she was going to insist he go see Madam Pomfrey. "Are you okay? You look like you haven't been getting much sleep," she whispered, leaning toward him.

Gryff nodded, not looking up from his plate.

Harriet sighed. She knew something was bothering him, she just hoped that he would be able to get through it, or let someone help him if he needed it. She reached out under the table and grasped his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "If you need anyone to talk to, I'm always here." Her voice was quiet. She glanced over at Rhonda who was eating, oblivious to her brother's problems.

The feeling that she was being watched had her turning her gaze toward the teachers' table. She saw three faces looking at her. Lockhart was watching them from the corner of his eye as he pretended to eat. Her uncle was watching her too, his face twisted into his customary "Hogwarts Students are Twits" frown as she'd labeled it. The third pair of eyes watching her were Dumbledore's, and the moment she met his eyes, she could feel him testing her occlumency shields. She frowned at him to let him know that she had felt it. The prodding sensation ceased. A glance in her uncle's direction informed her that he'd seen the exchange too. She shrugged and went back to eating.

Ten minutes later, they were filing out of the Great Hall, headed for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

A/N: Sorry to stop it so abruptly, but my muse went on strike in the middle of this chapter. Hopefully by next chapter we will have met a mutually acceptable agreement.


	9. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Okay everyone, I want to give a big thanks to all of my followers and reviewers. Your feedback motivates me. I also want to apologize for not posting sooner; I am taking another 15 credits this quarter, so I have to put homework first. I promise I will try to keep giving you at least one chapter every couple of weeks. – Cosmyk _

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 8:

Defense against the dark arts was a joke. Professor Lockhart's first order of business was to give them all a quiz focused solely on himself. Harriet thought it was all a big joke, until he brought out the Cornish Pixies. That had been an unmitigated disaster. The professor had lost his wand, and most of the students had hidden under desks, except for poor Neville whom the pixies decided to use as a chandelier ornament. Herman had finally fixed the whole thing with a third-year spell, "Aresto Momentum." It had taken them five minutes to summon all of the pixies to them and get them back in the cage. As they were leaving class, Harriet made a mental note to ask Herman to teach her that spell.

"I'm sorry," Rhonda whispered as they headed to Potions.

"For what?"

"For not believing you about Lockhart," Rhonda replied. "Mum's such a big fan; I didn't want to believe that he could be a fraud."

Herman trailed quietly behind, lost in thought. The girls continued on, glancing behind them with concern from time to time.

"It's alright, just promise me you won't do anything to get caught alone with him. He really creeps me out," Harriet whispered.

"Okay, but what about you, you have detention with him tonight."

"I don't know, I'll think of something. I will certainly be sure to keep my wand close. You can't get expelled for defending yourself against a teacher can you?" Harriet asked with concern.

"I don't think so, you weren't expelled last year."

"Yeah, but he openly attacked me. I think Lockhart would be more subtle," Harriet whispered back.

"I'm not sure that man knows the meaning of the word," Rhonda replied acidly.

They both stopped speaking as they passed the doors of the potions classroom.

"Miss Weasley, Miss Potter, how kind of you to join us," Professor Snape's voice was cold, "Perhaps one of you would mind explaining why you are late."

"I'm sorry, sir, it's my fault. Pixies spilled ink all over my uniform in defense class, I had to go back to dorm and change," Harriet replied.

"Nonetheless, you are late, five points from Gryffindor from each of you," He sneered.

Rhonda gulped and Harriet hung her head, wondering what her uncle's motives were. They took their seats as Professor Snape turned back to the board.

"Today we will be working on a simple potion known as Capulus Regrow, or the Hair Restoration potion. It is used most frequently by men seeking to reverse the effects of baldness. This potion is very tricky, so I want you all to read the directions carefully and prepare your ingredients before starting," Professor Snape instructed.

Harriet blinked. This was a new tack. While her uncle had often explained things for her when teaching her potions at home, he'd never taught this way at Hogwarts. She smiled. Perhaps he'd realized the difficulty many of the students were having reading his crabbed handwriting across a steamy classroom. She set to work, carefully jotting down the instructions on a tiny muggle notepad she had placed between herself and Rhonda while Rhonda got her ingredients and began to lay them out.

Rhonda picked up the notepad and read it over while Harriet prepared her ingredients, using little glass bowls to separate each item. She'd had the forethought of buying some for that express purpose after watching a muggle cooking show where the chef had all of his ingredients separated for easy access. Rhonda goggled beside her. "What are you doing that for?" she whispered.

"I'm separating my ingredients so that they don't contaminate each other or the surface I am working on," Harriet replied.

Rhonda nodded and immediately began putting more space between her ingredients on the table.

Harriet smiled down at the pale yellow substance in her cauldron; it was exactly the shade the instructions said it should be. She looked down at her instructions and felt something whiz by her face. Moments later, her cauldron began to bubble and fizz out of control. She reached over and pulled Rhonda down beneath their table just as the cauldron exploded.

Harriet hissed as hot yellow goo landed on her shoulder. "Merlin's balls," she snarled, as a burning sensation spread down her arm.

"That language has earned you detention, Miss Potter. Miss Weasley, escort Miss Potter to the hospital wing. Mr. Granger, please assist your friends by cleaning up their station. Bring me a sample of Miss Weasley's potion along with your own," Professor Snape instructed.

Rhonda hurried Harriet out of the classroom. Harriet was openly sobbing now as the burning feeling continued to spread down her right arm and hand as well as her back.

~HLPHLPHLP~

"Well, Miss Potter, I wondered how long it would be before I saw you in here again," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as Rhonda escorted her into the room. "What happened?" she asked, directing her attention to Rhonda.

"Someone threw something into her cauldron in Potions and it exploded. Professor Snape told me to bring her here," Rhonda explained as Madam Pomfrey showed them to an empty cot.

"Well, let's see what we can do," the healer replied, pulling the curtain and vanishing Harriet's outer clothing. Harriet gasped as the cool air hit her skin. Strangely, the cool air did nothing to stymy the fiery pain radiating from her arm and back. Madam Pomfrey gasped at the yellow, bloody blisters covering her arm and side.

"What potion were you making?" she asked.

"Hair regrowth," Harriet gasped out between tightly gritted teeth.

"Do you have any idea what they threw into the cauldron?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"According to Miss Parkinson, it was a small ball of lead," Professor Snape's voice came from just outside the curtain.

Madam Pomfrey handed Harriet a sheet to cover her naked front, and stepped out of the curtained area. Rhonda strained to hear what the adults were discussing, but a strange buzzing noise filled her ears, preventing her from overhearing the conversation. Madam Pomfrey returned.

"I am going to attempt to clean the wound and apply a burn paste, it will probably hurt a lot, but burns can get infected very easily. Please step outside the curtain, Miss Weasley," the healer gestured toward the curtain.

"Please," Harriet gasped, "let her stay." She reached for her friend, clasping her hand tightly. Rhonda winced slightly, but stood firm.

"Very well, take a seat, Miss Weasley, but make sure you stay out of the way," the healer waved her wand and a wooden straight-backed chair appeared beside the bed.

Rhonda sat down, not letting go of Harriet's hand. Madam Pomfrey cast a gently cleansing charm. Harriet screamed loudly and passed out. Rhonda gasped, "Madam Pomfrey, stop; it's not working." The healer lowered her wand and let out a curse that had Rhonda blushing. The injury had spread across Harriet's back and down her leg. She swore again. With a gesture of her wand, and a word muttered too low for Rhonda to make out, the ghostly figure of a poodle appeared. She looked at the wispy form. "Severus, you are needed in the hospital wing," she waved her wand and the figure vanished through the wall. It was mere moments later when a 'whoosh' was heard from Pomfrey's office and Professor Snape stepped out, brushing floo powder off his robes. Madam Pomfrey opened the curtain for him to enter.

"I tried a low level cleansing charm, and she screamed and passed out. The damage has spread to a large portion of her back and leg now. I'm afraid to try anything else for the time being," she whispered to the greasy-haired man.

He made a gesture with his wand and a small glass dish and a long white object with fluffy ends appeared. He handed them to her. "Get a sample of the wound for me. Make sure you include some of the yellow substance," he instructed. Rhonda watched as Madam Pomfrey took the white object and ran it over Harriet's wound, gathering a large sample of the blood and yellow substance on both ends before placing it in the dish and handing it back to Professor Snape. Harriet let out a loud moan of pain, but didn't regain consciousness.

Professor Snape opened his mouth to speak, just as Herman and Gryffin came rushing in. "Is Harriet okay? What happened?" The words spilled out of their mouths simultaneously.

"We are working on a cure. Mr. Weasley, go back to Gryffindor tower. You and your classmates will be notified as soon as Miss Potter is out of danger. Mr. Granger, come with me, I need an assistant and you will do perfectly well," Professor Snape barked.

The two boys stared at him in awe.

"Don't just stand there, come with me," Snape said, turning on his heel. Herman rushed to follow him, his shorter legs trotting to keep up with the professor's hurried stride.

Gryffin stared as his sister. "I-is she going to be okay?" he asked quietly.

"I hope so," Rhonda replied, "go back to the tower. I promise I will let everyone know the moment we know anything.

Gryffin nodded and rushed out of the room. Rhonda noticed he had bags under his eyes, but shrugged it off. She assumed he'd been having trouble sleeping because he wasn't used to the castle; she knew she'd tossed and turned her first week at Hogwarts.

As soon as he was gone, Madam Pomfrey closed the curtains and waved her wand, causing several bolsters to appear. "Help me turn her," she said to Rhonda. Together they managed to turn Harriet, and with the strategic placement of bolsters, had her lying in such a way that her injury was exposed to the air.

"I want to give her a pain potion, but I'm afraid it might interact dangerously with whatever that goo is," the nurse explained, talking more to herself than the red haired girl fretting silently over her friend. Madam Pomfrey muttered a diagnostic charm, breathing a sigh of relief as it appeared to have no further effect on the injury. She frowned at the results.

~HLPHLPHLP~

Herman brushed off the floo powder and looked around the professor's office. He'd never been in Professor Snape's private office before and he was startled to see all of the strange creatures floating in jars. The room looked strangely like a biology lab. He gasped when Professor Snape waved his wand and a section of the wall slid aside to reveal a shelf with, oddly enough, muggle diagnostic equipment on it. Professor Snape pulled a familiar black object off the shelf and placed it on his desk along with a muggle notepad and pen. He turned back to Herman, "I need you to take careful notes for me. You are not to mention to anyone about these devices or anything else you happen to see in my office, is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Herman said, realizing the professor would probably not be happy if he started asking the questions he was dying to ask. He picked up the notepad and sat down in the hard wooden chair in front of the professor's desk. He watched with fascination as the professor carefully placed the petri dish beside the microscope and tapped the microscope with his wand. A light came on inside of it. Reaching into the right-hand drawer of his desk, Professor Snape pulled out a small plastic box and opened it. Herman gaped to see thin rectangles of glass inside, each separated by a thin sheet of foamy material. He watched with curiosity as the professor picked up the cotton swab filled with goop that Herman assumed came from Harriet's wound and carefully smeared it over three of the sheets of glass.

Herman's hand began to cramp after an hour of scribbling short-hand notes onto the notepad. He'd carefully written down every one of the professor's observation, occasionally jotting his own thoughts in the margin when a thought came to him. He hoped the professor wasn't irked by it. Suddenly Professor Snape looked up.

"Set down the pen and wash your hands. I want you to get out a three more petri dishes from the cabinet behind you and place some of the contaminant into each of them," he instructed the startled boy, taking the notepad from his hands and glancing over it.

Herman hurried to comply with the professor's instructions, wondering what they were going to be doing next. When he turned back to the table, petri dishes in hand, he noticed that there were several potions on the table each with a muggle eye-dropper beside it.

A/N: Yes, I know this is a crappy place to end the chapter, but I thought a bit of suspense was in order. I know, I know, evil me. Well, tune in next time, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

-Cosmyk


	10. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 9:

"Sonovabitch!"

Herman blushed at the words spewing from Professor Snape's mouth. The normally imperturbable man looked to be nearing the end of his rope. He was pacing back and forth, his greasy black hair standing up at odd angles where he'd run his hands through it in frustration. They'd been in his lab for twelve hours, and so far they'd had no luck finding a cure for Harriet's condition. Suddenly Professor Snape stopped and looked over at him.

"What is that plant, the muggle one people use to heal burns?" He looked over expectantly at Herman.

"Aloe Vera? You think that will help?" Herman asked. His mom loved the plant, she bought Aloe Vera products all the time, and even kept a small plant on her windowsill. She even drank a glass of Aloe Vera juice every morning before work. He shuddered in rememberance.

"It can't hurt. I've tried everything I can think of in the magical world for burns, but whatever this became with that lead ball, it is reactant to magic, dangerously so," Snape replied, "the problem is, I don't think Madam Sprout has any in her greenhouses."

"My mum keeps a cutting of it. I can owl her and have her send us some," Herman offered.

"Do it. Hurry. Wait –" Snape stopped him. "Come with me, we will do it the faster way." Grabbing the startled boy by the wrist, he rushed out of the room dragging the stumbling Herman behind him. Snape dragged him up several flights of steps, muttered something to a gargoyle and dragged him up a set of moving spiral stairs almost faster than the gargoyle could jump aside.

"Severus, Mr. Granger, I am guessing from you haste you have discovered something to help Miss Potter," Dumbledore enquired as they burst into his office.

"Possibly, permission to use your floo and take the boy with me? We think his mother may have something that will help Miss Potter," Snape almost stumbled over his words in an effort to get them out between gasps of breath.

"Of course, you do realize it is two in the morning do you not?"

"Yes, sir. Mum won't mind if she knows it will help a friend," Herman insisted.

"Go then, but hurry back. Poppy says the girl's condition is worsening," Dumbledore replied, gesturing toward the fireplace.

Herman grabbed the floo powder and shouted his address, jumping into the flames almost before he had finished the words. Severus followed right behind him.

HLPHLPHLP

Harriet was surrounded by darkness. A *crack* sounded and red lightning flashed across the sky, accompanied by pain. She screamed. Her body burned and her scar ached and she curled up into a ball to protect herself from the lightning. Harriet wondered where she was and how she'd arrived at this strange place. Her last memory was of pulling Rhonda beneath the table in potions class, and then pain. Maybe she was dead. She knew many muggles believed in God and heaven, but everything she'd heard about heaven suggested an absence of pain, not the worst pain she'd ever experienced in her life.

Maybe she was in hell. The Christians believed in a place called hell where bad people and non-believers went. Maybe this was hell. She thought about that for a while between bouts of the burning pain.

"Harriet?"

She looked up to see Gryffin standing beside her.

"Harriet, what is this place?"

"I don't know. I thought it was hell, but it can't be if you are here. What are you doing here anyway?" she asked.

"I don't know. I came to see you in the hospital wing, I was worried. The moment I touched your hand I was here. I think we are inside your mind, but I don't know how," he whispered.

His eyes flashed red for a moment and lightning cracked over the sky a moment later. After a second, his eyes were back to normal. "I've got to go, I can't be here any longer. Professor Snape and Herman are looking for a cure. Goodbye," he faded out abruptly, leaving her to ponder the strange encounter. She wondered what it meant that his eyes had flashed red for a moment. Maybe it had something to do with what was bothering him, or maybe it had been a trick of the light. After thinking about it for a while, she decided it must have been a trick of the light. The only time she'd ever seen red eyes like that had been in her nightmares, the ones from that long-ago night her parents had died. Red eyes and a flash of green light, then the tortured face of her uncle peering down at her before lifting her from the crib.

Warmth flooded over her and a pair of gentle arms embraced her, chasing away the pain. She looked up into the face of a pale woman with long red hair and eyes that matched hers.

"Mum?" she whispered in disbelief.

"Yes, love," The woman whispered, stroking her hair.

"Why are you here, mum? Where's dad?" Harriet whispered, cuddling into her mother's embrace, sobbing.

"Your dad's with your mate right now, lending him strength. I'm not allowed to tell you more at this time. I came to help you, and to have you pass on a message," Lily whispered, hugging her daughter as tears poured down her face.

"M-my mate? What do you mean?" Harriet whispered.

"I'm forbidden from telling you more at this time. Listen, I don't have much time, tell your Uncle, you know the one I'm talking about, that I forgive him and I want him to move on. Tell him he's the brother I always wish I'd had and that I forgave him for his words long ago. He knows which ones I'm talking about. Tell him I said 'thank you' for protecting my most precious treasure. Tell him I'm sorry I couldn't love him the way he wanted, but that if he keeps his heart open, the right girl is out there waiting for him," Lily instructed, "Remember, I will always love you and I will never regret the fact that I died for you, don't ever forget it." She stroked Harriet's face one last time and faded away.

"I love you, mum. I will remember," Harriet whispered, her tears streaming down her cheeks as she knelt in the dark nothingness.

HLPHLPHLP

"Herman, what are you doing here at this time of morning, and who is this?" John Granger stood in the living room in a tan bathrobe and matching slippers.

"Dad, this is Professor Snape, our potions professor. My friend Harriet is gravely injured and he's trying to find a cure for her, we were wondering if mum would let us use her Aloe plant. Professor Snape thinks it may have properties that will aid in the healing since magical methods aren't working," Herman's explaination rushed out.

"Of course he can take it, I will even get together a basket of Aloe products he can try," Jean Granger came into the room in a matching bathrobe and slippers and slipped herself under her husband's arm, wrapping one arm around his waist.

"Thank you, Mrs. Granger, I'm nearly at wit's end trying to find a remedy. Every magical method we have tried has just aggravated the situation," Professor Snape replied formally.

Mrs. Granger left the room just as another person entered.

"Cassandra!" Herman exclaimed, rushing forward to embrace his sister.

"Herman. Professor Snape," She hugged her brother, nodding at the disheveled man standing across the room. "You look like hell. I overheard what you said to mom, would you like some assistance?" she offered.

"Your brother has been doing a great job," Snape replied.

"I'm sure he has, but you both look very tired. As you know, I have advanced degrees in Genetics and Biochemistry, I'm sure I could be a great help and then you both could have a rest," she pressed.

Severus stood there staring at her, his mind working frantically. They'd been working twelve hours straight without a break, perhaps an extra pair of hands would be useful. Plus, he thought, she had been the best student of any of his classes. Maybe a muggle perspective on the problem was needed. His dark eyes rose to her face. "If you can be ready by the time your mother has everything together, I will accept your offer. Perhaps muggle science can do what magic has been unable to," he said.

"Great, I'll be right down," she said, turning to rush back up the twisting staircase.

"How do you know my sister, Professor?" Herman asked, cocking his head.

"She kept Miss Potter and Miss Weasley company until I could retrieve them when the platform closed," Snape explained shortly. He decided the fact that he'd been her muggle chemistry professor at University was not something the boy needed to know at this time.

"Oh," Herman replied, pondering that as he sat down in a fluffy cream-colored armchair. "You can sit down if you'd like professor."

"No, thank you. I'm fine where I am," Snape replied. He didn't add that if he sat down, he would likely fall asleep in something as soft as the Grangers' chairs.

The clatter of feet on the staircase had them turning and they watched as Cassandra Granger, now clothed in jeans and a lab coat, came flying down the stairs two at a time, a wicker basket with assorted objects and a green plant bouncing on her arm.

"Whoa there, slow down," Professor Snape said, moving to catch her as she stumbled down the last step. He ignored the odd jolt he felt when he touched her arm, stepping away the moment she had her balance back.

"Let's go then," he turned to Mr. and Mrs. Granger who were watching him from halfway up the stairs, "thank you for the use of your fireplace." He pulled out a small sack and tossed a handful of green powder into the low flames of the fireplace, causing them to flare up.

"Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office," he said, he cast a quick cushioning charm on the basket before grabbing them by the arms and stepping into the fire.

A/N: Hope you liked it, you will find out if his wild idea will work in the next chapter. As a half-blood and a potion's professor, I couldn't see Snape _NOT_ knowing about Aloe and its properties, even if he hasn't been able to convince Sprout to keep some in her greenhouse.


	11. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

_**A/N: Sorry it has been so long since I updated, I was distracted with school concerns.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 10:

Harriet could hear quiet murmuring, but the voices were so low she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She cried out as feeling suddenly returned to her body. She felt like she was on fire. Footsteps rapidly approached and then the pain and heat began to recede. She opened one eye and looked around. The plain white curtains surrounding her bed in the dim light revealed her location. She was in the hospital wing again.

"I think she's awake, Professor," a quiet, feminine voice called out. Harriet cringed back as a blur leaned over her. She felt a cool wetness stroke over her skin and the rest of the pain receeded. Another figure loomed over her, tall and dark, the shape more familiar to her.

"Uncle Toby?" She murmured, squinting up at the hovering form.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Potter," her uncle's voice sounded faintly amused.

Memory returned in a rush. "Professor Snape? Why are you here? How long have I been out?" She fired off the questions frantically. She knew her uncle had to keep up appearances and she was fairly certain something serious must have happened after the cauldron exploded, but what happened after that, she couldn't recall.

She felt something touch the sides of her face and then the room came into focus as her glasses slid into place. Hovering above her were Professor Snape, Cassandra Granger and a very worried Madam Pomfrey. A snore from beside the bed had her shifting. Herman was sitting in a chair beside her bed, his head tipped backward to rest against the wall, heavy snores rumbling from his upturned nose. She giggled and then looked back up at the adults, puzzled.

"Miss Granger, what are you doing here?"

It wasn't Miss Granger's voice that answered, but her potions master's, "Miss Granger was instrumental in finding the cure for you." His tone was emotionless and instructive, but her years of living with him allowed her to hear the slight catch in his voice that gave lie to his apparent unconcern.

"What happened?" She could tell that a large portion of her body was covered in some form of viscous substance, but she wasn't sure what the reason for it was.

"Miss Parkinson chucked a piece of lead into your cauldron. She had no idea the damage it would do when introduced to the ingredients of that particular potion, she just thought it would be amusing to ruin your potion." This time Harriet could clearly recognize the anger in his voice. "I'm afraid you were burned quite badly by the resulting liquid. It took us quite a while to find a remedy."

"How long have I been out?"

"Ten days."

"Am I going to be badly scarred?" her voice trembled.

"I don't think so, Professor Snape was able to blend muggle medicine and potions to create a substance to heal the burns," Miss Granger's voice cut in.

"Oh, good, how come you are here anyway?" Harriet asked.

"I'm afraid your young friend over there is quite brilliant," Professor Snape interjected. "We tried everything we could think of to magically heal you, but for some reason the burns were resistant and reactant to magic. Every time we tried something magical, the burns spread further. It was all Madam Pomfrey could do to keep you alive. Then young Mister Granger had the idea to try Aloe Vera. Muggles use it for sunburns and other healing ointments, so we went to his home to retrieve a plant from his mother. Miss Granger here has several muggle degrees in science," his tone sounded very approving, causing Harriet to smile slightly, "she was the one that finally came up with the salve for your burns."

Harriet smiled up at the young woman, "thank you." She looked over at Herman, "how long has he been here?"

"Only for a couple of hours, your friend Miss Weasley was here before that. They've been taking turns watching over you since the incident –" Her voice cut off at the sound of commotion at the doorway. They turned to look as Dumbledore entered the room, followed by Filch and various members of the staff. In his arms was Mrs. Norris, lying rigid.

Madam Pomfrey left her bedside and hurried toward Professor Dumbledore, "Albus, what happened?"

"Mrs. Norris has been petrified, Poppy. We need a place to put her until the mandrakes are mature," Dumbledore explained.

Professor Snape moved toward the group, effectively blocking Harriet's view. Miss Granger stepped back into the shadows of the curtain, her face betraying her nervousness.

"How could this have happened?" Professor Snape's deep voice carried clearly to her ears.

"Oh, Severus, the Chamber has been opened again," McGonagall's voice quavered.

"The Chamber?" He looked at them, his eyes widening as realization dawned. "The Chamber of Secrets?" He glanced back over his shoulder at the bed and then moved with the rest of the teachers out into the hall. Harriet was distracted from trying to hear what they were saying by a movement near the foot of her bed.

Pansy Parkinson stood at the foot of her bed, wringing her robes in nervous hands.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Harriet hissed, her anger rising.

"I-I-I wanted to-to say I'm sorry," Pansy stammered, crushing the silk robes in her clenched fists, "I'm so sorry," she burst out, breaking into sobs. Cassandra moved from the shadows and placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder and Pansy turned and buried her face in the muggle woman's blouse, oblivious to the fact that the woman wasn't wearing robes.

Harriet just stared at her, anger warring with confusion. Pansy was normally cold and aloof, joining the other Slytherins in the cutting insults and bullying. Harriet was just opening her mouth to respond with cutting words when Pansy began speaking again.

"I didn't know it would do that. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. D-Draco s-said it would be funny to see what happened. I never wanted to h-hurt you," she bawled, soaking Cassandra's pale blouse.

Harriet felt her anger draining away in the face of Pansy's honest remorse. "I guess I can forgive you, but you must promise you will never do something like that again," Harriet demanded of the crying girl.

Pansy raised brown, tear-filled eyes hopefully, "N-Never again, I s-swear on my m-magic. Never again will I throw something into someone's cauldron if I don't know what it does, or if I know it will hurt someone."

Harriet watched in awe as pale blue light swirled around Pansy as she spoke. "Blimey, what was that?"

"That was a magically binding vow," Madam Pomfrey's voice came from behind Pansy, causing the young woman to jump. "Do keep in mind that if you break a vow such as you just made, you will lose all of your magic, Miss Parkinson. A vow on your magic should never be done lightly."

Pansy turned toward the elderly healer. "I meant every word. I almost killed someone. I don't like how that makes me feel."

Harriet smiled. There was hope for Slytherin house yet, "In that case, I forgive you, Pansy." She addressed her that way deliberately to show there were no hard feelings.

"Thank you, Miss Potter," Pansy whispered formally, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She turned to thank the person she'd cried all over and her mouth gaped open in shock.

"She's a-a muggle?"

"Yes, this is Herman's sister, Miss Granger. She helped heal me. If it wasn't for her I'd be dead right now," this might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but Harriet hoped it would drive home the idea that muggles weren't all bad to the pureblood girl.

"T-thank you, Miss Granger," Pansy stammered, perching herself gingerly on the foot of Harriet's cot.

Cassandra smiled down at the young girl who'd just cried all over her. "It is no problem. Please call me Cassandra," she held out her hand to the black haired girl.

"Pansy, Pansy Parkinson," the girl replied, gripping her had tentatively at first, then with firm resolve.

The three of them sat there quietly talking, occasionally looking over at Herman and giggling when he let out a particularly loud snore. It was just about the time that Harriet began to feel tired again when Professor Snape returned.

"Miss Parkinson, what are you doing here?" His tone was frigid, disapproving.

"I came to apologize to Harriet, I mean Miss Potter, professor. I didn't know the lead would hurt anything."

"Good. Do remember you have detention this evening. Miss Greengrass is looking for you, perhaps it is time you found her," Professor Snape suggested, his voice thawing only slightly. Pansy nodded and slipped off the bed, disappearing beyond the curtain with a wave.

Professor Snape turned to Cassandra. "I wish to thank you for your aid. It is likely Miss Potter would have died without your help. May I offer you an escort home? I am certain your family must be frantic by now."

A/N: I told you things would begin to drift further from canon from here on out. What do you think?


	12. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_Please review, your feedback helps my writing improve and inspires me to write more content more often. __;)_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 11:

Harriet hurried down the hallway toward the staircase. Her detention with Professor Snape had just finished and she had about three minutes to get back to the dorm before curfew began. She felt thankful that her uncle had gotten her detention switched from Lockhart to himself. She'd take scrubbing cauldrons without magic to being near the creepy defense professor any time.

**Rip – tear – kill – **

Harriet looked around frantically. She could hear the sibilant voice, but the hall was empty. She hurried down the hallway, glancing around frequently. It was because of this that she didn't see Justin Finch-Fletchley's body until she fell over it. She screamed, her voice echoing down the corridors, drawing attention from professors and portraits alike. Her eyes drawn to the prone boy, she totally missed the nearly transparent Nick floating next to the body.

"Miss Potter, what is the meaning of – Oh, My!" Professor McGonagall gasped. She was the first person on the scene as her office was at the foot of the staircase. She stared down at Harriet who was still sprawled across Justin's body. With a flick of her wand, a white wispy cat burst out of her wand and disappeared down the hallway.

"P-professor, did you hear the voice?" Harriet asked.

"What voice? Did you hear whoever did this?" McGonagall asked, her full attention on the young girl who was sitting on the floor, rubbing her bloody knee.

"I heard a voice, it was really creepy. It said…" she paused, looking up at Professor McGonagall, "it said **rip – tear – kill**. I didn't see anyone, but I started running…" she stopped, noticing the professor staring at her in horror.

"What's wrong?"

The thundering of feet cut off any response Professor McGonagall might have made. Albus Dumbledore came rushing up the staircase, followed by professors Snape and Lockheart.

"Goodness, Miss Potter, what are you doing here? It is past curfew," the headmaster asked.

"I found her here, lying across Mister Finch-Fletchley. Albus, she's a parselmouth," McGonagall whispered in a horror-filled voice.

"Miss Potter was supposed to be on her way back to her common room," Professor Snape drawled. "She has just finished scrubbing cauldrons for me."

"Interesting. Gilderoy, please take Mister Finch-Fletchley to the hospital wing," he gestured at the blonde haired man hovering behind them. He turned back to Harriet, "what did you see, Miss Potter?"

"I didn't see anything? I heard a voice. It was saying **rip – tear – kill**. I didn't know what to do, so I started running, and I fell over – over – over the body," Harriet said this last with a sob, still clutching her bleeding knee.

"Can you repeat what the voice said in English?"

"I-I thought I was speaking English."

"No, you repeated it in parseltongue – snake language. Concentrate carefully, see if you can notice the difference," Professor Dumbledore instructed.

Harriet thought about it for a minute. "I think it said: 'rip – tear – kill.' I didn't even realize it wasn't speaking English, sir."

"Hmm, so whatever it is, it speaks Parseltongue. Severus," Dumbledore turned to the potions master, "I want you to work on finding out what this creature is and where it is coming from."

"Very well, Albus," Professor Snape stepped up to Harriet and waved his wand over her knee, murmuring words under his breath, too low for Harriet to overhear them. Harriet felt the pain immediately leave her knee and watched in fascination as the blood retreated back into the wound and it sealed itself up. He turned back to Dumbledore. "If you are finished with Miss Potter, I recommend we send her back to her dorm. I'll take Nick to the infirmary."

"Yes, very good. You may go Miss Potter. You are not to speak of what happened here," Professor Dumbledore advised.

Harriet stood up and with a mumbled, "yes, sir," fled down the hall and up the moving staircase.

HLPHLPHLP

They could hear the whispering start at they entered the great hall. Harriet cringed at the feel of everyone's eyes focused on her.

"Why are they all staring at you?" Rhonda whispered.

"I don't know?" Harriet whispered back as they moved toward the Gryffindor table at the other end of the room.

"…parselmouth…" one voice whispered as they passed by.

"…heir of Slytherin…" another voice could be heard as they passed the Ravenclaw table.

Harriet cringed. Obviously someone had talked about what had happened. She looked up at the head table to see her uncle glaring at her with concern.

"What's going on?" Herman's voice whispered from her other side.

"I don't know?" was Rhonda's bewildered reply.

The three of them slid into empty places at the Gryffindor table. Harriet noticed how the rest of the table subtly shifted to give them a wide berth. She pulled out a small mirror and held it up to her face, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing had changed. The burn scars were gone and the rest of her looked normal.

Trying to ignore the stares and whispers, Harriet pulled a bowl of scrambled eggs toward her and heaped her plate with them. She noticed her friends shooting her questioning looks as they did the same.

She looked up as Gryffin joined them. "What's going on?" he whispered to Herman.

"We aren't sure," he replied, shooting a look at Harriet. "Everyone's whispering about the heir of Slytherin and parseltongue."

"Parseltongue? Why would anyone be on about that?" Gryffin asked, shoveling a forkful of sausage into his mouth.

"Are you blind?" Rhonda hissed, "they are staring at Harriet. Someone seems to have started a rumor about her being the heir of Slytherin. Probably just Malfoy tryin' to make trouble again." She took a bite of toast heavily coated with marmalade.

"Ignore them, they're just idiots then," Gryffin stated, deliberately raising his voice so as to be heard by the eavesdroppers surrounding them. He took another bite of sausage, "anyone who knows Harriet knows better than to believe she would be attacking other students."

Harriet noticed several of the Gryffindors blush and turn their attention back to eating. She ate silently, cursing the fact that she couldn't say anything to her friends. She was rather startled therefore when she heard Professor Snape's voice behind her.

"Miss Potter, I wish to speak with you about your essay on dittany. Please come to my office as soon as breakfast is over."

Harriet nodded, "yes sir."

Herman leaned toward her once Snape had left, "what was that about? You essay was just fine. I proof-read it for you before you turned it in."

"I don't know. Maybe he's heard the rumors and wants to ask me about them. I'll meet you by the pitch afterward and we can talk about it," Harriet whispered back. She could feel the glares on her back from the students at the other three tables. "Will the three of you walk me to Professor Snape's office? I don't like some of the looks I'm getting."

"Of course we will," Gryffin said, leaning forward to squeeze her hand. He began shoveling food into his mouth at a rapid rate and Harriet winced, hoping he didn't choke. She glanced over at Rhonda and raised her eyebrows.

"Blimey, Rhonda, are you really going to eat all of that?" Her best friend's plate was piled high with bangers and eggs.

"Course I am," Rhonda replied, taking another bite of food, "I'm a growing girl after all."

"You might want to start running with me in the morning then, to balance it out. Cousin Tonks says that now is when we have to take the most care of our bodies," Harriet offered, hoping her friend would take her up on the suggestion.

"No way, I have no intention of getting up at six o'clock every morning. How you do it every day is beyond my ken," Rhonda hissed back. Harriet shrugged and turned back to eating.

"I'll go with you," Gryff offered, "if you don't mind the company that is."

"Me too, Cassie said I should start exercising more," Herman put in.

Rhonda sighed and shot glares at her brother and their friend, "I'll try too, but only twice a week to start," she surrendered with a huff. Harriet smiled and hugged her, "You are the best, Ronnie."

"Eew. Do ya have to call me that?" Rhonda groaned. That was about as bad as the nicknames the twins were always coming up with for her.

HLPHLPHLP

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Mudblood, the Blood Traitors and the Parselmouth?" the sneering face of Draco Malfoy emerged from around the corner, followed closely by his two bodyguards. "How does it feel to be a pariah?"

"Bugger off, Malfoy," Herman snarled, clenching his fist.

Harriet sighed. She really hated Malfoy and his holier-than-thou attitude.

"Go stick your head in the toilet and flush it, Malfoy," she sneered back, forcibly shoving past him. She was in no mood to deal with his harassment. She knew if she wasn't at her uncle's office soon, he'd come looking for her and she really didn't want a detention for fighting in the halls. She snarled when he grabbed her arm as she tried to shove past. She hadn't even had a second to draw her wand when she heard, "Petrificus Totalus," "Densuago," and "Unguiculus Jelixio,*" shouted from behind her. Crabbe turned stiff as a board and fell over, Goyle dropped his wand and put his hands over his mouth as his teeth began growing at an alarming rate, and Malfoy's fingers turned to jelly. The three of them turned and ran, screaming for Professor Snape.

"Merlin's balls, now we are all going to get detention," she moaned. They hurried toward Professor Snape's office, oblivious of the disillusioned form smirking after them from behind a suit of armor. When the four of them had turned the corner, Severus Snape stepped out of his hiding place and banished the spell hiding his presence. He was going to have to speak to his ward about her language, but he was secretly pleased at how quickly her friends had defended her. He made a mental note to speak to his erstwhile godson. He knew the boy was the mastermind behind the incident with the lead. Why he'd ever allowed Narcissa to convince him to be the boy's godfather when he loathed her husband so much, he didn't know.

He strode into the classroom only to be confronted by Draco Malfoy and his goons.

"Professor, we were just attacked in the hall by Potter, Granger and the Weasleys," Draco whined. His goons nodded their heads in agreement.

"I suppose you didn't do anything to provoke them?" Snape asked with a sneer.

"Of course not, godfather," Draco replied, oblivious to the undertones in his head's voice.

"Of course not, take Mister Goyle to the hospital wing. I will speak with Miss Potter and her friends." He waited until they were almost at the door. "Oh, and Draco, ten points from Slytherin for using the term 'Mudblood,'" he bit back a laugh as his godson blanched and fled the room.

It was only moments later that Harriet slipped into the room nervously. Severus cast a spell on the door that would allow it to remain open, but would prevent eavesdropping. People could see who was in the room, but could not overhear anything and no devices could circumvent it.

"Sit," he gestured to the chair across from his desk.

"Sir, I didn't tell anyone, not even Rhonda and Herman," Harriet blurted out.

"I know. The portraits are partly to blame, but so are some loud mouth teachers who I won't name. I want you to be very careful. The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a student died. I have my suspicions about what the creature is, but until I know for sure, keep a mirror on hand at all times, and be certain your friends do the same," he advised. He sat down at his desk and picked up a piece of parchment, pretending to peruse it.

"What do you think it is?" Harriet enquired.

"The symptoms point to a basilisk. How Albus hasn't figured it out, I don't know, but be careful, a basilisk is very dangerous. If you hear parseltongue again, or encounter the snake, I want you to run the other way," he handed her the parchment and a book. "I have an extra credit assignment for you and your friends. I want you to research the history of the chamber for me. We need to find the entrance to the chamber and silence this monster once and for all. Don't tell your friends I gave you this assignment, find some way to suggest it on your own. You need to come see me on Friday nights and update me on your progress. Be here at seven. If anyone asks, you are taking remedial potions."

"Yes, sir," Harriet rolled up the parchment and slipped it into her robes. She stood up to leave when he called her back again.

He was holding a thin, well-worn book. "Give this to your friend Herman, tell him I said he can keep it. It is payment for helping me when you were ill. And Harriet, be careful," he advised.

Harriet nodded, looking at the book. A snicker escaping when she read the title: The Arte of Occlumency by S. Prince. She laughed as she exited the room.


	13. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story._

_A/N: Any italics in the story are either flashback/thoughts or quoted directly from the books._

_**Sorry it has been so long since I updated, I got sick during finals week last quarter and have been swamped with work ever since. I am taking a much needed break from everything to update. I promise I have not abandoned you.**_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 12:

"He said this was for me?" Herman held the book reverently, his hands caressing the spine. He was sitting in the corner of the common room beside the empty chessboard.

"Yeah, he said it was payment for helping him while I was ill. I suggest you read it. Occlumency is a fascinating branch of magic," Harriet laughed at Herman's covetous expression. She slid out of the other chair as Rhonda returned down the stairs from the girls' dorm, her box of chess pieces clutched protectively in her hands. "I'm going to quidditch practice, I'll meet you in the library afterward, I have something to run by the two of you," she whispered before heading up to change into her quidditch robes.

HLPHLPHLP

"What was that about?" Rhonda asked as she assembled her chess pieces on the board across from Herman's.

"Harriet was bringing me this. Professor Snape sent it to me. He said it was payment for helping him find the cure for Harriet. I would have done it without payment, but I'm also not going to turn down an opportunity to read a book on an obscure branch of magic either," he held up the book to show it to Rhonda.

"Cor, that's a rare branch of magic. Billy was telling me that not everyone can learn it. Do you think you can?" Rhonda asked, moving her knight.

"Absolutely; I firmly believe that a person can learn anything they put their mind to. If you like, I'll even help you learn it when I've finished," Herman offered, countering her move.

HLPHLPHLP

Harriet slunk into the common room. Rivulets of water flowed out of her raven hair and down across the lenses of her classes, obscuring her vision. She stumbled across the opening of the portrait hole, swearing, and headed up the stairs to the girls' dorm.

"Oh, dear, Harriet, you look dreadful, let me help you," Lavender Brown slipped an arm through hers and guided her into the room. Harriet felt someone remove her glasses. They were returned a moment later, dry. She noticed Lavender stashing a pink cloth back inside her robes, and smiled at her.

"Thanks. Now I just have to get out of these," she gestured to her sodden robes as she moved toward the wardrobe where her clothes were kept. Extracting the items she needed, she proceeded to strip down.

Blimey, Harriet, have you seen your side?" Lavender's voice was horrified. Harriet glanced down at her side and swore again. There was a large purple bruise, the exact size of a bludger forming on her ribcage.

"Got hit by a bludger at practice. It was so wet out there the twins were having trouble spotting the bludgers. Oliver's insane. He insisted we couldn't come in from practice until I'd found the snitch. It took me three hours," she shivered, hastily pulling on a shirt over the injured area. "Anyway, it'll be better in a few days."

"You should really have Madame Pomfrey take a look at that," Lavender insisted as Harriet pulled on a pair of sweat-pants.

"It'll be fine, it doesn't even hurt," Harriet insisted, jerking on her robes and straightening them. "I've got to go. I promised to meet up with Rhonda and Herman in the library. They are probably waiting for me by now," she hurried out of the room before Lavender could nag her any further.

HLPHLPHLP

"Do you think something's happened to her?" Rhonda asked worriedly.

Herman looked up from his book, "I doubt it. Quidditch practice probably ran late. I've heard that Wood is a bit obsessive about practice.

"In this?" Rhonda looked out the window, horrified.

"Yeah, it took Harriet three hours to find the snitch, and Old Ollie wouldn't let us leave until she'd found it," Angelina Johnson's words came from behind Rhonda.

"She said she was going to change before coming to the library. Didn't want Pince to kill her if she got water all over the books," Katie's voice chimed in.

"Here she is now," Herman said, looking towards the door. Before he could say anything more, Madam Pince's voice roared out.

"Wet shoes? You come into my library with wet shoes?"

Harriet blushed and looked down at her squelching tennis shoes. "I'm sorry Madam Pince. I changed out of the rest of my wet stuff, but I am afraid I don't know a spell for drying shoes and this is the only pair I have."

Madam Pince visibly deflated. "Well, I'll teach you the spell then, but you must promise me that you will never come into my library wet again.  
Harriet nodded and the others watched as Madam Pince, Dragon-Lady extraordinaire instructed Harriet in the intricacies of the _Tergeo _spell.

Harriet joined them at the table a few minutes later and was just leaning forward to speak when a shadow fell across the table. The three of them looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing over them, a frown on her face. "Miss Potter, come with me. Now," she emphasized as it looked like Harriet was going to argue. Harriet stood, and shooting an apologetic look at her friends, followed her out of the room.

)_

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I will try to be more active with posting. Feedback is always welcome.


	14. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this story, I am only playing in her universe._

_**Sorry it has been so long since I updated, my muse went on vacation for a while, but she's back now, so she's going to be working double-time for a while to make up for an unannounced vacation. **_

_**I promise I have not abandoned you.**_

_Also – __**bold lettering is Parseltongue.**_

HLP 2 – Slytherin Secrets

Chapter 13:

"Professor, what did you wish to speak to me about?" Harriet asked as she sank down into the plush velvet armchair.

"I wanted to offer you the opportunity to catch up on your missed class-work. I know you have to be struggling to catch up with the classes you missed," McGonagall lifted her teacup and took a sip.

"Actually, I'd like that. Herman's notes are good, but they are nothing compared to practical instruction. What times would you like me to be here, ma'am?" Harriet took a sip of her tea and grimaced. She reached over to the sugar bowl and picked out four lumps, dropping them in her tea. "What is this stuff?" she asked, taking another sip, trying desperately to hide her grimace. Sugar just made it worse.

"Gurdyroot tea. Young lad by the name of Xenophilus Lovegood introduced me to it about twenty years ago. Best stuff I ever drank," McGonagall smiled, sipping her tea.

"Hmm, must be an acquired taste. Do you think you could speak to the other professors and see if they would offer me times for remedial work? We would have to be sure it didn't conflict with quidditch practice though," Harriet replied, making a mental note to never again take tea with McGonagall. She'd thought her uncle's dandelion tea was nasty. She decided she would never again complain about her uncle's taste in tea.

"Well, then, you have a free period on Mondays and Thursdays between Charms and Potions, I would like to see you at that time for remedial Transfiguration," McGonagall was glancing over a copy of Harriet's schedule. "Pardon me, but I was wondering when you first discovered you were a parselmouth?" Dumbledore had asked her to enquire, but had not given her a reason, she just hoped the child didn't take offense at what was obviously a personal question.

Harriet laughed, a smile on her face. "I was six and playing in my uncle's herb garden. I discovered a little green garden snake and started to play with it. I didn't realize no one else could talk to them. Uncle Toby nearly had a heart attack."

"Oh?" The curiosity was evident in McGonagall's tone.

"Yeah, he doesn't like snakes that much. Never did tell me why," Harriet grinned. "We went to the zoo for my birthday and I had a nice little chat with a boa constrictor. I've never seen anyone so happy to leave a herpetarium than he was."

"Herpetarium?"

"Oh, sorry, a herpetarium is a place where snakes are housed, usually at a zoo. I like going there because they always make the funniest observations about the people watching them," Harriet pretended to sip her tea.

"You are twelve now, I expect you will shortly be getting the scarlet visitor. Has your uncle explained things to you?" McGonagall's face was turning crimson as she asked.

Harriet giggled. "It started about three weeks before my twelfth birthday. Uncle was so embarrassed he couldn't look me in the eye for a week. He had to have Cousin Andy come and explain things to me. I thought I was dying. She hasn't let him live it down," she confided conspiratorially. Who ever knew professor McGonagall was so easy to talk to.

McGonagall laughed, thankful she didn't have to explain the delicate subject to yet another oblivious student.

HLPHLPHLP

"So, what did the professor want to talk about?" Herman whispered. He, Rhonda and Gryffin were sitting around a table in the library, leaning towards Harriet.

"She wanted to offer me some remedial lessons for the classes I missed, and then we talked about other things," Harriet gestured off-handedly.

"What sort of things?" Herman asked, his curiosity pricked.

"Well she wanted to know about parseltongue, and she also wanted to know if I'd had the talk," Harriet blushed as she answered, burying her face in her charms text.

"Talk? What talk?" Herman's voice was filled with confusion. Rhonda grinned, prepared to take the mickey out of him. Gryffin leaned over and whispered something in his ear, a grin on his face. Herman turned red and covered his face with his hands. Gryffin just smirked.

Rhonda raised an eyebrow at him, "how do you know about that?" she demanded.

"Umm, I was kind of um…eavesdropping you could say when mom had her little talk with you about it," Gryffin's face was beginning to rival his hair as the two girls looked at each other and started giggling.

"SHHHH!" Madam Pince's furious hissing sounded from behind them. "The library is a place for study. If you are not going to use it for such purposes I am afraid I will have to ask you to leave."

"Oh, sorry, we'll get back to work now," Herman replied, burying himself in a textbook. The four of them had been studying for a while when Harriet lay down her book and looked around. On finding the library mostly deserted, she leaned forward. "I'd like to talk you guys about something," she whispered.

"Is this the thing you wanted to mention to us earlier?" Rhonda whispered. Harriet nodded.

Gryffin stood up suddenly. "I um, have to use the bathroom, can the three of you fill me in later?" at their nods, he gathered up his books and hurried out of the library.

"Do you think he's okay?" Harriet asked.

"Yeah, I think he's just homesick, why?" Rhonda replied, sliding her books into her book bag.

"He's so pale. I don't think he's sleeping well. Something feels off. I mean, we don't usually take our books with us when we go to the loo do we?" Harriet replied.

"I'll ask him tonight," Herman replied. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Two things, actually. What do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?" Harriet asked them.

"Never heard of it," Rhonda replied, "what is it?"

"I have," Herman replied. He reached into his book bag and pulled out an enormous book which he set on the table with a loud *thunk*. The title read: _Hogwarts, A History._ He flipped through the pages for a while. "It's a myth. According to this, the Chamber of Secrets is rumored to be Slytherin's secret chamber, but no actual proof of the chamber's existence has ever been found. Wait, here's something interesting," he pushed the book to the center of the table and the two girls leaned over it as he began to read:

_"Believed to be a myth, proof of the chamber's existence has never been proven, though rumor has it that the chamber was opened in 1942 when several students were petrified and one muggle-born student was killed by the creature rumored to reside in the chamber…"_

Herman trailed off. "I wonder who it was that died?"

"I don't know. I bet we could look at death records and the Hogwarts roll and find out who the person was. Do you know if anyone ever found out who opened the chamber?" Rhonda suggested.

"How would we go about finding that information?" Harriet wondered.

"We could ask my mum, she works in the department of records at the ministry," said a voice from behind Rhonda. All three of them jumped and turned to look at the petite black-haired girl smiling shyly at them in her Slytherin robes.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Rhonda demanded angrily, starting to rise.

Harriet laid a calming hand on her arm. "Easy Rhonda, she apologized in the hospital wing and I forgave her. Come sit with us," she slid her chair over to make room for Pansy to sit with them. Pansy smiled and pulled a chair over from a nearby table.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. My mum works in the department of records, she would be able to get us the information we need. Why are we doing this anyway?"

"Well, I figured that we are all in danger from whoever this Heir of Slytherin is, so the best thing we can do is learn everything we can about the Heir and the Chamber of Secrets. Trust me," Harriet said, "I'm not saying we should do anything that will actually endanger ourselves, just that to be informed is to be prepared."

"That actually makes a lot of sense. We should get going soon though because it will be curfew soon," Pansy suggested.

"Before we go, I wanted to tell you, I think we need to learn occlumency. Herman has a book on occlumency. I think we should all study it, I don't like the idea of people being able to see my private thoughts," Harriet said.

"I suppose. It does seem like a lot of work though," Rhonda replied standing up and hefting her bag over her shoulder.

HLPHLPHLP

"Miss Potter, please stay behind," Professor Lockheart said as they gathered their things at the end of class. Harriet rolled her eyes and shoved her books and notes into her bag. She grunted when she lifted it onto her shoulder, the weight of her defense books causing an ache in her shoulder. She fidgeted impatiently as she waited for the rest of the class to filter out. When they had left, she moved closer to Lockheart's desk, determined to keep the desk between her and the professor.

"Professor McGonagall has explained to me that you are hoping to take some remedial classes to make up for the ones I missed. I have scheduled your defense class remedials for Friday night at seven p.m." Lockheart told her, checking his appearance in a small mirror on his desk.

"I don't think that's necessary, sir, I'm almost caught up in your class," Harriet lied. She hadn't bothered doing the work because she thought it was ridiculous to write a paper on why Professor Lockheart was a three-time winner of _Witch Weekly's_ most charming smile award.

"Nonsense my girl, it is already arranged. I expect to see you at seven," He insisted, giving her his patented smile which sent shivers down her spine. Harriet nodded and excused herself, hurrying out of the room.

Rhonda was nowhere in sight when she exited the room. Harriet checked her watch and sighed with relief. She still had time to make it to the loo before her next class. She rushed down the hall and into the first bathroom she came across. It wasn't until a ghostly head pushed through the wall of the bathroom stall that she realized she had chosen Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harriet hurried with her business and was just about to exit the stall when she heard voices.

"NO MORE!" a masculine voice bellowed, followed by a ghostly shriek and a loud *thump*. Footsteps hurried out of the room and Harriet peered out of the stall. There was no one present except for Myrtle who was wailing. She looked into the stall beside her to see the ghost sitting in the toilet, sobbing.

"What happened," she asked awkwardly, wondering how you comfort a ghost.

"Someone threw a book at me!" Myrtle wailed, "I don't suppose you saw who it was?"

"No, I think it was a boy though. I'll mention it to Professor McGonagall and see what she says," Harriet comforted.

"It won't matter. Minerva always hated me, she won't care that a boy threw that book at me," the ghost's finger pointed at the slim black book lying in a puddle of water on the toilet. "Now I suggest you get out of here, I intend to flood the bathroom," she hissed, plunging into the toilet. Harriet headed out of the bathroom and hurried toward her next class, the black book tucked under her arm.

AN:_

Author's Note: Well, that's another chapter done. I will try to update more frequently.


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